Her most famous photographic series, “Women of Allah” (1994), features images of the artist’s body overlaid with Arabic text. A gun appears in many of the images, poking out from between Neshat’s feet or lying over her forearms. More than 20 years after their creation, the pictures remain jarring critiques of violence and traditional gender roles. Neshat’s 1998 film Turbulent features a split screen with a man singing in front of an audience on one panel, and a woman standing alone on the other, addressing prohibition of women singing in public. It won the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion—among contemporary art’s highest honors.
