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Shirin Neshat’s Book of Kings captures the faces of the Arab Spring riots

Last updated: April 16, 2025
Photography
Activist art, Art & calligraphy, Art & Portraits, Art & The Arab Spring, Art in Iran, Artworks & exhibitions by Asian artists, Artworks & exhibitions in Asia, Artworks & exhibitions in Beijing, Artworks & exhibitions in China, Artworks & exhibitions in the Middle East, Black & White art, Groundbreaking art, Muslim-related art, Religion in art, Shirin Neshat's most interesting photography
4 min read
Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud 1
1 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing
    • 1.Introduction
    • 2.What inspired Shirin Neshat?
    • 3.Video: An encounter with artist Shirin Neshat
    • 4.History, politics, and poetry in one exhibition
    • 5.Shirin Neshat’s photographs
    • 6.The portraits
      • 6.1.The Patriots
      • 6.2.The Villains
      • 6.3.The Masses

Introduction

The Gladstone Gallery and the Faurschou Foundation in Beijing 1, China 2 are just some of the art spaces that have had the pleasure of exhibiting Shirin Neshat’s 3 The Book of Kings.

The exhibition consisted of a total of 56 black and white photos framed in unmated and black frames that were hung across the two galleries. Neshat, “persona non grata” in Iran 4 due to her art, created the photographs to reference a broad array of important and modern political metaphors.

Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
2 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing
Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
3 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing

What inspired Shirin Neshat?

Shirin’s exhibit was motivated by the series of political uprisings, now commonly known as the Arab Spring, which took place throughout different Arab countries between 2011 and 2012. The Book of Kings explored the causal conditions of power within social and cultural structures in the modern society.

The title of the installation was inspired by the 60,000-verse historical poem known as Shahnameh 56 or the Book of Kings in English. 11th-century poet Ferdowsi 78 created the ancient poem that inspired the title of the exhibition, and it chronicled the history of Iran throughout its 7th century Islamic conquest of Persia 910.

Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
4 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing
Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
5 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing

Video: An encounter with artist Shirin Neshat

YouTube video
25 min 50 sec

History, politics, and poetry in one exhibition

Managing to interweave history, politics, and poetry in one exhibition, Shirin Neshat set the series against the backdrop of the Arab Spring perfectly. Just as Ferdowsi cast the Islamic conquest of Persia as a catastrophe, Neshat’s photographs were also created to commemorate the masses of unknown citizens who sacrificed themselves to see justice and political freedom upheld across many Arab and Middle East countries.

Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
6 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing
Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
7 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing
Shirin Neshat - Installation view of The Book of Kings at Faurschou Foundation Beijing. Photo by Jonathan Leijonhufvud
8 Shirin Neshat – The Book of Kings, installation view, Faurschou Foundation, Beijing

Shirin Neshat’s photographs

Shirin Neshat’s photographs consisted of three groups of large-scale 11 black and white pictures, hand-annotated pictures with poetry and pictures featuring prison writings that had been done in Farsi calligraphy. These three groups of photographs represented the villains, the patriots, and the public who participated in the Arab Spring riots.

Shirin Neshat in her studio working on Roja from "The Book of Kings"
9 Shirin Neshat in her studio working on Roja from The Book of Kings

The portraits

The portraits were hung in a grid covering a whole wall. The portraits featured headshots of both serious-looking men and women. The subjects represented the nuances of group emotion during the riots, from aspiration and resignation to hope and uncertainty.

The Patriots

Unlike the villains’ section, the patriot segment featured torso-level portraits of young subjects placing their hands over their chests. The expressions on these subjects were more intense to include expressions of defiance, pride, and even hatred. The calligraphic elements on the skin of these subjects were larger and bolder as if shouting the expressions rather than whispering them.

Shirin Neshat – Salah (Patriots), 2012, from Book of Kings
10 Shirin Neshat – Salah (Patriots), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Sara Khaki (Patriots), 2012, from Book of Kings
11 Shirin Neshat – Sara Khaki (Patriots), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat – Roja (Patriots), 2012, from Book of Kings
12 Shirin Neshat – Roja (Patriots), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Muhammed (Patriots), 2012, from Book of Kings
13 Shirin Neshat – Muhammed (Patriots), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Nida (Patriots), 2012, from Book of Kings
14 Shirin Neshat – Nida (Patriots), 2012, from The Book of Kings

The Villains

Lastly, the villains’ category of the series consisted of pictures of older men. The calligraphic details were elaborate and were placed across the bare chest of the male subjects like tattoos. Observed together, all three categories represented metaphors, symbols, and emotions that accompany political movements like the Arab Spring.

Shirin Neshat – Amir (Villians), 2012, from Book of Kings
15 Shirin Neshat – Amir (Villains), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat – Sherief (Villains), 2012, from Book of Kings
16 Shirin Neshat – Sherief (Villains), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat – Bahram (Villains), 2012, from Book of Kings
17 Shirin Neshat – Bahram (Villains), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Detail of Bahram (Villians), from Book of Kings
18 Shirin Neshat – Detail of Bahram (Villains), 2012, from The Book of Kings

The Masses

Shirin Neshat - Mana (Masses), 2012, from Book of Kings
19 Shirin Neshat – Mana (Masses), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Salah (Masses), 2012, from Book of Kings
20 Shirin Neshat – Salah (Masses), 2012, from The Book of Kings
Shirin Neshat - Sara Nafisi, 2012, from Book of Kings
21 Shirin Neshat – Sara Nafisi, 2012, from The Book of Kings

 

All images by Shirin Neshat & Jonathan Leijonhufvud for Faurschou Foundation unless otherwise noted.
More by Shirin Neshat

Citation

Footnotes

1. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/beijing/
2. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/china/
3. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/shirin-neshat/
4. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/iran/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnameh
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnameh
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdowsi
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdowsi
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquest_of_Persia
11. https://publicdelivery.org/tag/large-scale-art/
1. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-1.jpg ↩
2. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-2.jpg ↩
3. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-3.jpg ↩
4. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-4.jpg ↩
5. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-5.jpg ↩
6. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-6.jpg ↩
7. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-7.jpg ↩
8. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Installation-view-of-The-Book-of-Kings-at-Faurschou-Foundation-Beijing.-Photo-by-Jonathan-Leijonhufvud-8.jpg ↩
9. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-in-her-studio-working-on-Roja-from-The-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
10. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-–-Salah-Patriots-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
11. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Sara-Khaki-Patriots-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
12. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-–-Roja-Patriots-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
13. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Muhammed-Patriots-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
14. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Nida-Patriots-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
15. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-–-Amir-Villians-2012-from-Book-of-Kings-2.jpg ↩
16. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-–-Sherief-Villains-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
17. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-–-Bahram-Villains-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
18. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Detail-of-Bahram-Villians-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
19. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Mana-Masses-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
20. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Salah-Masses-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
21. https://publicdelivery.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Shirin-Neshat-Sara-Nafisi-2012-from-Book-of-Kings.jpg ↩
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