A Gaze through the Veil:

Introduction“In any society, the principal guardians of free expression are individualartists and intellectuals who push the limits of permissible discourse andchallenge the predominant ideology.” (Middle East Watch, 2003)As an artist in a society where free speech and free expression can be exercisedwithout restriction one can take this right for granted. Throughout the research of thisthesis it was important to try and understand how society would function if theserights were not in practice. By examining the country of Iran and the strict censorshipand restrictive laws that have been placed on the people since the country transformedinto an Islamic Republic, I hope that one can see the implications that are caused bythe loss of the right of free expression and free speech.The censorship regime and the fundamentalist values that have been imposed on thecitizens of Iran, have all contributed to the stifling of free expression and a societywere fear has contributed to a culture of self censorship. This thesis commences withan analysis of the Iranian government since the revolution of 1979 and it’stransformation into an Islamic republic. By examining the fundamentalist regime thatwas put in place and the structured government that imposed these laws of censorship,I want to illustrate the consequences that have been experienced by the artists andacademics of Iran. The censorship regime is a complex and structured system, and thevigilante groups that are also acting to impose these fundamentalist religious valuesare all contributing to a restricted society. I examine some of the laws that have beenimposed and the artists that have suffered the consequences of not complying withthese restrictions.I have based my discussion on Iran around the work of the Iranian female artist ShirinNeshat. Neshat’s work comments on the restrictions that the people of Iran have hadto experience, such as sex-segregation, restrictions on actions, speech and dress.Neshat is remarking on a society that had transformed since her departure to Americain 1973 and her return to Iran in 1990. Neshat works from the perspective of two verydivergent cultural backgrounds, her work succeeds in creating a universal languagenot only commenting on the conditions of life in Iran but also revealing an insight intothe Westerns perception of the East. Neshats “images challenge equations betweenindividualism, feminism and cultural expression, and productively illustrate the