Sonia Esmaeillou
VISA 1001
D. T.
Turbulent by Shirin Neshat
Shirin Neshat’s 1998 video installation Turbulent addresses the struggle for female expression within a society dominated by traditional power structures. By mixing performance, video, and symbolic imagery, she creates a work that both protests cultural restrictions and redefines cultural norms. This essay argues that Turbulent challenges established cultural norms and highlights the silenced voices of women while exploring the contrasts between logic and emotion, harmony and discord, and tradition and modernity.
In Turbulent, one screen shows the male singer (Shoja Azari) on the stage with his back to the white-wearing, all-male audience; He performs a traditional Persian love song - originally a thirteenth-century Sufi poem by Jalal ed-Din Rumi. The performance is passionate and familiar, with a round of applause from his audience at the end. The opposite screen placed in front presents a woman (Sussan Deyhim) wearing all black, facing an empty concert hall with her back to the viewer, enforcing her silence. As the male performance ends in applause, the woman breaks her silence with a wordless, yet profoundly powerful vocalization, composed of passionate breaths and intense, primal cries. The camera spins around her during the haunting performance, even though it was fixed for the man. Both performers employ a melismatic style, stretching a single syllable over many musical notes, yet the woman's abstract, unstructured expression -bringing to mind the energy of shamanic rituals- challenges traditional interpretations of beauty and order.
One notable detail is the way the artwork represents contrasts. It visually captures the tension between the rational and the irrational, the pleasant and the unpleasant, and the traditional and the modern. The rational, measured presence of the male performer and his familiar cultural references contrasts sharply with the irrational, raw outburst of the female singer.
Context
Shirin Neshat, an Iranian-born artist, created Turbulent during a period of political and social change. Neshat’s work is rooted in the context of post-revolutionary Iran, where gender and cultural dynamics underwent profound shifts. Women in Iran are banned from solo performances in public spaces amongst many other restrictions, yet some persevere and continue to do so despite the risks. In her work, the choice of a video installation allows her to merge elements of performance art with cinematic storytelling. This provides a dynamic platform that not only presents a visual narrative but also invites the viewer to feel the emotional depth of the performance.
The empty theater, with its silent seats, symbolizes how society has long neglected the voices of women. In this space, the male performer is backed by the visible presence of an audience - a symbol of the well-supported masculine narrative - while the female performer is left to confront an unresponsive void.
Furthermore, the artwork also includes an interesting musical detail. In the first part of the piece, Shoja Azari is performing a song; However, this song is not actually sung by him; it is the voice of the famous Persian singer Shahram Nazeri dubbed over the performance. This detail is significant because it connects the artwork to a broader cultural tradition while also highlighting the layers of performance and identity. By using Nazeri’s voice, Neshat not only pays homage to a celebrated cultural figure but also creates a situation where the only people able to recognize this deception are the ones who know the original song, as it was not declared that it was him. (It would be mostly Persian people.) For a foreign audience for whom the Persian language and culture don't have an effect, the ‘weird’ personal performance at the end might be read as more universal and effective than the one with "culture" and “history” to support it.
Symbolism
The symbolism in Turbulent is layered. The empty theater itself serves as a powerful metaphor for the void created by the exclusion of women’s voices. The visual contrast between the male and female performers speaks to the larger societal imbalance - men are supported and celebrated, while women are left to face silence and isolation. One YouTube commenter has observed that “men have people behind them, women must face alone the emptiness their life became, yet their silenced voice is louder than any man’s voice.” This statement reinforces how the artwork not only reflects individual pain but also represents the collective suffering and neglect of women across cultures.
The installation also encapsulates a range of dualities. The rational and controlled manner of the male performance contrasts with the chaotic, emotional outburst of the female voice. This contrast suggests that the rationality of tradition and order, often associated with masculinity, is not enough to express the full spectrum of human emotion. In contrast, the irrational, raw expression of the female performer reveals a deeper, more primal truth - one that is disruptive but necessary. The way the screams ricochet in the empty theater is a symbol for the unheard half of the population in Iran and many other countries.
Another layer in Turbulent is the interplay between the traditional and the modern. The artwork brings together elements that are historically admired - such as the Poem by Rumi and the voice of Shahram Nazeri- with modern expressions of defiance and personal pain. This combination highlights how cultural heritage, while valuable, can also be restrictive, silencing those who do not fit within its boundaries. (because of the new regime.)
Cultural Context
The cultural context of Turbulent is as significant as its visual elements. Neshat’s work critiques power and recognition in society; In many cultures, including Irans, art by men is widely recognized and celebrated, while women’s art remains confined to the domestic or personal. Through her installation, Neshat challenges this imbalance by bringing the female experience into the public eye, asserting its significance.
Turbulent speaks to the ongoing struggle for gender equality and encourages viewers to question cultural narratives that have historically silenced women. The female singer’s solitary performance in an empty theater directly critiques a society that marginalizes female voices. Her wordless song becomes a powerful demand for recognition, carrying the weight of generations of suppression and silenced emotion.
By integrating the work of a famous traditional singer like Shahram Nazeri into a modern context, Neshat also critiques the selective preservation of cultural history. Traditional aspects of culture are celebrated, while perspectives that challenge the accepted canon - especially those of women - are ignored. This creates space for a conversation about whose voices are valued and whose are silenced. This challenges viewers to think about how culture and tradition shape people’s roles and whether those roles should change in today’s world.
Moreover, the dualities present in the artwork - rational versus irrational, pleasant versus unpleasant, traditional versus modern - (L. Fanning, 2006), highlight a broader cultural tension. Society often values order and rationality, yet the raw, expressive power of the female performer reveals a deeper, more complex reality. The contrast between structured, historically validated forms of expression and uninhibited emotional release challenges viewers to see the full range of cultural and personal identity.
Personal Reflection
For me, the impact of Turbulent is immediate and deeply personal. The artwork’s raw emotion and imagery induce feelings of isolation, empathy, and even defiance. The image of a lone female performer, her cries echoing in an empty theater, resonates as a metaphor for anyone who has ever felt overlooked or silenced. Parts of her performance, especially the breathwork, remind me of the funerary hymns sung in some (old) Persian tribes (the Lors) which adds another layer to the grief I hear in her voice.
The inclusion of the traditional song performed by Shahram Nazeri holds a very special place in my heart. It’s a voice that reminds me of my childhood when my dad used to listen to that kind of music in the car, even though I didn't like that type of music at the time. I appreciate it a lot more now as I understand the meaning of the beautiful poems by Rumi - in this case talking about the intense and overwhelming experience of love.
The poem roughly translated:
“Until the sorrow of your love took hold of me
My poor heart, in deep despair, was caught in a sea of grief
Many times, I had fallen into the pain of love, but never had it been as desperate as this time
The madness of you shall remain for a lifetime
Every moment, every breath, will be a song of you.”
This blend creates a dialogue that feels both personal and universal to me. It shows that while traditional culture can offer comfort, it also carries the weight of exclusion and lost potential.
Watching Turbulent makes me feel anger towards Iran’s regime for its long history of suppressing women. I see the isolated cry of the female performer as a powerful declaration of resistance against a system that has silenced my own voice and the voices of so many other women. I feel compelled to break away from this past and to embrace a new, authentic way of expressing myself - one that speaks truth to power.
Conclusion
Shirin Neshat’s Turbulent is a layered work that uses visual imagery and powerful sound to challenge cultural norms and highlight the enduring struggle for female expression. Through a careful interplay of formal elements and symbolic content, the artwork represents the dualities of rational versus irrational, pleasant versus unpleasant, and traditional versus modern. The choice to feature the voice of Shahram Nazeri, masquerading initially as Shoja Azari’s performance, connects the work to a celebrated cultural tradition while simultaneously challenging the established canon.
Bibliography:
Anne D’Alleva and Michael Cothren, Methods & Theories of Art History, Third Edition (New York: Routledge, 2021).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCAssCuOGls&t=15s&ab_channel=myfuzions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFvXzGe3DHA&ab_channel=GanjeHozourMusic
https://archive.org/stream/shirinneshatturb1626nesh/shirinneshatturb1626nesh_djvu.txt
https://www.digiart21.org/art/turbulent
https://www.leesafanning.com/shirin-neshat-turbulent
https://publicdelivery.org/shirin-neshat-turbulent/
https://conf.du.ac.ir/fa/article.php?lrId=19&cnfId=2
I asked chatgpt to translate the poem by rumi as Persian poetry is extremely hard to translate into english as it sometimes lacks the depth to express things. It didn't really do a good job though.
Fun fact: the Persian title of the work translates to ‘Restless’, and its written on the woman's side.