Art: Excellent project makes portraits of women from censored Iranian packaging

It’s common knowledge that in Iran attitudes towards women are largely defined by very traditional Islamic codes, but it’s not often you stop to think about how this really impacts on everyday life. This excellent new work by artist Mr. Toledano brings the far-reaching ramifications of this cultural conservatism to life in an unexpected way. He has sourced packaging from Iran which has had female figures inked out so as not to offend moral probity. By then decontextualising these oddly erased female forms, Mr. Toledano creates what he calls “A portrait not of a person, but of absence. Of suppression. A portrait of a point of view.”
 He adds: “The censor, a person whose function is to erase, becomes the person who makes us see.”

Thought-provoking brilliance from an artist we’ve long held in high esteem and a powerful series of works which raise important socio-cultural points.