Troubling Headscarves

In the ten photographs that make up Iranian artist Shadi Ghadirian’s 2006 series Ctrl+Alt+Del , a black-clad woman’s body disappears into the black background against which she is photographed, preventing any sense of depth or perspective within the image. Only her face, hands, and feet—those parts of the body traditionally considered “naturally” visible and therefore not subject to laws of covering—are visible, as pale white contrasts to the black of the photograph. The black on black, however, creates an illusion for the viewer that the woman may be either “covering” or wearing tight black clothing such as might befit a dancer. In each photograph, familiar computer icons have been digitally added; sometimes they follow the lines of the woman’s body, sometimes she pushes them away. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Archaeology · Art · Black women · Clothing · Face (sociological concept) · Illusion · Perspective (graphical) · Sociology · Subject (documents) · Visual arts · White (mutation) · Computer Science · Crafts, Textile, and Design · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Gender Studies · History · Psychology