Tooba
Date2002
Maker
Shirin Neshat
American, born Iran, 1957
Label TextIn this two-channel video installation, Shirin Neshat stages a symbolic tale of tension and transcendence set in a world blending memory and imagination. She explores her identity as Iranian, as female, and as émigrée. Inspired by the novel Women without Men by Iranian writer Shahrnoush Parsipour, Tooba (meaning “tree of paradise”) revolves around a feminine tree described in the Qur’an. Especially for Sufis, this tree symbolizes peace, nourishment, and hope. Filmed near Oaxaca, Mexico, the magical realism of Neshat’s elegant, poetic allegory eliminates national borders.
Tooba is a video installation by internationally acclaimed, Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat. Since the early 1990s Shirin Neshat has explored themes of women and Islam, east and west, individual and collective, in monumental, double-screened projected video installations. Inspired by the novel Women without Men by Iranian writer Shahrnoush Parsipour, Tooba, or tree of paradise, centers around an image of the feminine tree, a symbol which originates in the Koran. Filmed in color near Oaxaca, Mexico, Neshat’s poetic allegory employs a style of magic realism and spare elegance, presenting a narrative of tension and transcendence. Tooba was commissioned by Documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany.
Object number2005.141
Photo CreditPhoto: Larry Barns
Courtesy Gladstone Gallery
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Tooba, Feb. 2006 - Jan. 2007.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Be/longing: Contemporary Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Feb. 8, 2020 - July 10, 2022].
Credit LineGift of Jeffrey and Susan Brotman, Jane and David Davis, Barney A. Ebsworth, Jeff and Judy Greenstein, Lyn and Jerry Grinstein, Richard and Betty Hedreen, Janet Ketcham, Kerry and Linda Killinger Foundation, James and Christina Lockwood, Michael McCafferty, Christine and Assen Nicolov, Faye and Herman Sarkowsky, Jon and Marry Shirley, Rebecca and Alexander Stewart, Virgnia and Bagley Wright, Charles and Barbara Wright, and Ann P. Wyckoff in honor of Lisa Corrin
Dimensions12 min.
MediumColor 35mm film transferred to DVD
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