Shirin Mohammad at Künstlerhaus Bremen

Artist: Shirin Mohammad

Exhibition title: rebellion of the slogans

Curated by: Nadja Quante

Venue: Künstlerhaus Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Date: April 1 – June 4, 2023

Photography:  all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and ©Künstlerhaus Bremen

From April 1 to June 4, Künstlerhaus Bremen presents the solo exhibition rebellion of the slogans by artist Shirin Mohammad (b. 1992 in Tehran, lives and works in Berlin and Tehran). For her show, the artist developed a new body of work that looks at the history of resistance movements through their slogans and addresses the influence of cultural and linguistic expression on political discourse. In rebellion of the slogans Mohammad presents a new multimedia installation including sound, sculpture and a publication.

Mohammad’s multidisciplinary practice includes installation and film, as well as artistic research in archives. With a particular focus on the socio-political history of Iran, Mohammad brings together elements of documentary and fiction to examine the remnants of lost, ignored, and abandoned narratives.

rebellion of the slogans features the first iteration of a new research-based work by the artist that concentrates on the language and aural aspect of slogansā from variousū historical ruptures in Iran; from the Constitutional Revolution (aka Enghel b-e Mashr teh) in the early 1900s, to the current revolution. For the exhibition at Künstlerhaus Bremen, Mohammad focuses on four general strikes and protests dating between 2017 and 2023. The artist presents the visitor with a collection of slogans that she gathered from the above-mentioned periods addressing the question of how history can be narrated through the slogans of the resistance movements. Her chronology of slogans reveals a development of the language and shifting of words that resembles a call and response. The sound installation is a sonic translation of the slogans.

For the production of the installation and publication Mohammad collaborated with a network of affiliates from Iran – partially based abroad or in the country. In the accompanying program, the archive of slogans that Mohammad presents in her installation functions as a focal point for gathering scholars, cultural workers and authors from Iran from various disciplines. In a series of presentations and conversations initiated by the artist, they propagate a multitude of perspectives on the slogans.

The feminist scholar Yasmine Ansari will talk about Politics of Memory and the Slogans of Jina’s Revolution. Her research interests revolve around gender politics, politics of memory, and reproductive governance in the context of modern Middle East, with a special focus on post-revolutionary Iran. Mahdis Mohammadi will present her research on Remembrance of Things to Come: Archiving Iranian Protest Movements. Mohammadi is a film scholar who has translated many articles and several books on art history and film criticism/theory into Persian. Further events will be announced in the coming weeks.

The exhibition is the first solo show of the artist in Germany.

Curated by Nadja Quante

The publication rebellion of the slogans – volume I, which is part of the installation, contains a collection of slogans in Farsi with their English translations as well as an introduction by Iman Ganji. It will be on sale in the gallery for a nominal charge of 5 euros. German translations of the texts will be available in the gallery.

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, rebellion of the slogans, 2023, exhibition view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Photo: Fred Dott

Shirin Mohammad, Dammam: Unknown Performer No.1, Senj: Unknown Performer No.2, 2023, Felt, polymer clay, aluminum wire; Portable Cardboard Puppet Theater, 2023, Bike cardboard box, tape, marker, installation view, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Dolls: Vafa Aminikia, Photo: Fred Dott