Black Hand (graffiti artist)
Black Hand is the pseudonym of an Iranian graffiti artist, known as Iran's Banksy.[1][2] S/he remains anonymous because of Iran's municipality laws, which make unofficial writing or advertising on walls illegal.[2]
Black Hand is known for their stencil art, which they uses to comment on sexism in Iranian society, on the (legal) trade of human organs and on the political events in the Middle East.[2] In an interview with The Guardian Blackhand explained, "The public has a right to see the art. I chose street art because I want to guard against the galleries’ monopoly. Our intellectual and artistic society are underestimating and ignoring ordinary people’s power."[2]
The artist held an exhibition in April 2014 which took place in a condemned historic house in Tehran. In one room an image of each item of furniture was repeated multiple times, commenting on society's reliance on labels. In another room an installation was created commenting on threats to the environment. Black canvases sprayed with the word "Art" lined the hallway.[3]
Notable works
- Woman with a washing-up liquid bottle - this work appeared in June 2014 on a wall in Tehran, portraying a woman wearing an Iran football shirt and holding a washing-up liquid bottle above her head, as if it was a trophy. It appeared to be a comment on the exclusion (and separation) of women from sport. The work was later overpainted in red paint and finally removed altogether.[1][4]
References
- 1 2 "#BBCtrending: Iran's washing-up liquid protest". BBC News. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
- 1 2 3 4 "Iran's Banksy: 'The walls in my city are the canvas for my paintings'". IranBlog (London: Guardian News and Media Ltd). 6 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
- ↑ Ayeda Nik Farjam (May 2014). "#BBCtrending: Iran's washing-up liquid protest". IranWire. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
- ↑ Kambiz Foroohar (3 July 2014). "Black Hand: Tehran’s Graffiti Artist vs. Clerics". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2014-08-06.