DANM MFA 2020 – Digital Arts and New Media MFA Exhibition

Virtual empowerment

This project is an immersive experience and visual narrative in the form of sociopolitical fiction. The project is designed to inhabit both virtual and physical spaces. I use virtual reality (VR) technologies and installation since these technologies can provide an immersive interactive experience for the audience to interact and understand. I critique the patriarchal conditions of contemporary Iran by contrasting them with a narrative of powerful female figures from Persian mythology. My goal is to reflect contemporary problems by criticizing the obstacles and limitations women in Iran struggle with on a daily basis and present an alternative, even fantastical representation of true stories. Women can regain power inspired by ancient myths and goddesses that precede and exceed the patriarchal mindset of contemporary Iranian society. We have always had myths about powerful and strong men. In mythology, women also have been known as healers and heroic forces. In historical Persian mythology, female power is a symbol of mother nature, the protector of humans and Earth. I am interested in how this historical, supernatural, fantastical figure could inspire the restoration of the critical role of women in contemporary society.

I imagine the construction of a room with some projected still images and looped motion concepts on the wall on the topic of women’s rights. I intend to show that women are seen as dependent creatures in some parts of the world and, in particular, in the Middle East. I communicate this concept in a surreal or aphoristic way. For example, a woman who has been immobilized by a bunch of ropes or strings and her womb will serve as a symbol of their ancient and religious beliefs. There is a VR headset in the room. When the player enters the immersive room, the first things he/she faces are those looped motion concepts and still images of women projected on the walls that reflect the limitations that a woman faces within a patriarchal society.

When the player wears the VR glasses, some famous ancient Persian goddesses–like Anahita–appear with special powers and traits. Then, this goddess will pass on or give her power to the player. Now, the player has the power to become free from all these limitations and restrictions. For example, when the player gets a holy/sacred plant/flower from Anahita, they can shake hands and rescue the other women with magical power.

By introducing this goddess into virtual reality, participants will get a feel for gender equality in contemporary Iran. My goal is social awareness. I think it is imperative to encourage traditional people to shift their mindset to the world of “equality.”

In historical Persian mythology, female power is a symbol of mother nature, the protector of humans and Earth. I am interested in how this historical, supernatural, fantastical figure could inspire the restoration of the critical role of women in contemporary society.

Anahita is the Mother of Gods in old Persian. She is a symbol of fertility, pureness, creation, and affection. The Worship of Anahita continued in the Sassanid period (224 to 651 AD). D. M. Murdoch writes, “In Persian mythology, Anahita is the goddess of all the waters upon the earth and the source of the cosmic ocean; she drives a chariot pulled by four horses, wind, rain, cloud, and sleet; She is regarded as the source of life.”

In contrast with my childhood, as a woman in Iran, I did not have the right to do many things without the consent of my father. In fact, I am the legal property of my father. The “hijab” dress code is mandatory and is enforced both by the law and by male relatives. So, I did not have the right to wear what I pleased, or generally, to live my life in a way that I truly wanted to. In legendary stories of goddesses, associated with ideas such as fertility, motherhood, and pureness, is the power and confidence to face the patriarchal culture of my country.

I critique the patriarchal conditions of contemporary Iran by contrasting them with a narrative of powerful female figures from Persian mythology. My goal is to reflect these contemporary problems by criticizing the obstacles and limitations women in Iran struggle with on a daily basis, and present an alternative, even fantastical representation of true stories.

As an installation, Virtual Empowerment presents its own immersive room to engage the participant to walk through the story. The projection mapping on the walls communicates the real situation of Iran’s society. The performance portrays a real figure, a female body, as a representative of all women of the country. The bodily relationship of the performer and participants creates an emotional impact on the viewer so that they can absorb the story in a deeper way. The lighting and drawings on the walls give people time to comprehend the real-world content in a physical room and get to know the fantastical imaginative style of the work before wearing the VR headset and experiencing the virtual world.

I focused on creating a Virtual Environment to form a fantastical, imaginary space of my own to make a relationship between the possible and impossible, real and unreal, physical and virtual. I did this by exhibiting non-changeable still images on the walls intersecting with changeable animated images in VR. The color transition from black and white in the immersive room to the color in the VR experience changes the mindset from desperation to hope. This concept enables the participant to change their mindset about digital technology and the possibilities, features, and utilities that it brings to life. The goal of VR usage was to use it as a tool for empowering people and making new meaning of immersion. Instead of putting on somebody else’s shoes or empathizing with the suffering of characters, the participant can try to understand the characters by being a separate active player in the story, and ultimately the viewer feels empowered and capable of change through the virtual experience.

My personal engagement with media technology is pretty new. I had to overcome many challenges using VR technology and I conducted extensive research during this time. As a woman coming from a diverse background from a highly patriarchal society, my initial inability to use technology in my country of birth is not surprising. I chose VR as the best way to share the story because it gives me the chance to have my own fantasy space with magical realities when I cannot have a room of my own in the real world. The strategy of escaping into a fantasy world, creating my own space, as a coping mechanism is a very important part of my VR piece. What VR did in my project was make a room of my own in a simulated space; in this space, the fantasy goddess shares her power with my participants and empowers them to cope with unpleasant and terrible things. My space provides a significant resolution regarding things that cannot be resolved in life. Although VR cannot be expected to perform as an empathy machine, in my piece, it broadens the participant’s power to overcome the impossible.

This project commemorates the brave protesters and women of my country who fight for freedom and equity and who are subject to discrimination: Sahar Khodayari, known as #Blue Girl, was an Iranian woman who set herself on fire in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran on September 2, 2019, because she was not allowed to enter the football stadium. Marzieh Ebrahimi was a survivor of the 2014 serial acid attacks on women in Esfahan, Iran. #A girl of Enghelab Street is a symbol of a girl’s protest against compulsory Hijab, who was arrested by the government. I portray a number of activists who protested against discrimination in Iran.

And many more women…