Iranian woman photographers.

Ordinarily gender is irrelevant when it comes to good photography. All that matters is the image. But when the photographer is a member of one of the most ill treated subsets of humanity then gender becomes supremely relevant.

Click the image for Gadirian’s web site.

Iranian Shadi Gadirian’s work is a slap in the face, illustrated with gorgeously lit and composed still lives each with an instrument of death incongruously placed in the image, that same violent death which is an ever present factor in much of Middle Eastern and Northern African life.

I came across Gadirian’s work in what at first seemed a pretty unprepossessingly titled show at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University: “She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World”. The exhibition – not large but mostly comprised of very large prints – turned out to be absolutely gripping.

Click the image for more details.

Another rivetting image is one by Yemeni female photographer Boushra Almutawakel which shows women with their faces progressively more covered by the veils they are forced to wear in what is an ultimate statement of cruelty – denying beauty its rightful exposure to sunlight:

Click the image for Almutawakel’s web site.

Here’s another stunner from Almutawakel, titled “What If…?”:

If ever a picture were worth a thousand (angry) words, this is it.

There’s lots more to enjoy and wonder at in this fine show, which runs thorugh May 4, 2015; Stanford U and the Cantor Arts Center are in Palo Alto, CA. Encomiums to Stanford for putting on this fearless exhibition.