A Gaze through the Veil:

For the installation of Turbulence two screens are placed on opposite sides of theroom facing each other, the viewer must position themselves in-between both screens,hence automatically becoming involved in this piece. As they cannot observe the filmin its entirety or look at both screens at any one time it causes viewer interaction. Theviewer’s movement and interaction between the screens is like the conflict andstruggle of the singers in this piece. As Neshat stated herself: “They are physicallyand emotionally in between the two sides, and because they cannot possibly see bothimages simultaneously, they must decide which side to turn too and which side tomiss, and in doing so, they become the editors of the piece.” (Dabashi, 2005, p.53)Theviewer’s performance bridges the gap between the screens. Hence Neshat’sinstallations present a space that is interactive in the viewer’s presence and in turn theviewer partakes in the action of constructing an experience.The viewer experiences the images and their “familiar iconography as a symbolicprocess-a space- that is both subjective and socially encoded.”(Vitali, 2005, p.109)The images that they are presented with are culturally coded, the division of the sexesby screen and the tension created by the gaze of the male at the female, illustrates thedemarcation of sexes in modern Iran. The restrictions on Iranian women are shown,such as the banning of public singing. ‘Turbulent’ exposes the barriers that are createdby the rules of the Islamic Republic.In her film Rapture (1999), Neshat deals with gender and its connection with space,she deals with the restraint on women’s movement and the limits of space in IslamicIran. She shows the contrasts between men and women in relation to nature andculture. Neshat once again uses a two-channel installation like she did in ‘Turbulent’;both screens are placed on opposite facing walls. On one screen we see over ahundred Iranian men all dressed in a uniformity of white shirts and black pants. Theymake their way to a fortress were they proceed undertake activities such as climbingladders, fighting, like they are preparing the fortress for attack. They are simulatingideas of activities related to men like defence, military and protecting against theenemy.On the opposite screen we see over one hundred women all dressed in the blackchador, they are in a barren desert, roaming freely, they are not restricted to any