Tehran Remixed (2005), a multimedia photographic series by Amirali Ghasemi that explores Tehran’s underground scene and youth culture.

From Foam Magazine’s profile of the series:

In the series Tehran Remixed Amirali Ghasemi shows young urban Iranians socializing, their faces and other areas of exposed skin blanked out to protect their identities. The social activities depicted seem as though they could be happening in any city around the world. Yet the fact that the identities of the participants in these seemingly ordinary acts must be so starkly concealed underscores how specific the situation is to Iran.

A Separation was extraordinary. I’ll admit that I was suspicious that this was another simplistic depiction of Iranian society (like Reading Lolita in Tehran) and that was the main reason its been so celebrated. Fortunately, this is not the case. Asghar Farhadi, the film’s writer and director, masters a perfect balance of subtlety and complexity. The film’s plot evolves so naturally and gradually that the monumental developments in the narrative feel perfectly intimate and understated. If you can, see the movie before it deservedly takes home the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Rogue by Farhad Moshiri (2004). Installation, 1001 toy guns in gold leaf.

Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran:

The fearsome knives, pistols, rifles and machine guns in this piece look as if they have been inspired by media images of weapons held by terrorists from a ‘rogue state.’ The Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri often uses such luxurious materials as gold lead or Swarovski crystal, but rarely even in his works has the gap between art and reality been expressed with such audacity. Ultimately, however, this arsenal of gilded weapons invites us to question the nature of the reality on which we base so many of our preconceptions. (178)

Be Colourful Series (2006) by Shadi Ghadirian.

Artworld’s Contemporary Art in the Middle East section on Ghadirian:

[The series depicts] models behind a painted glass pane in a composition that consists of three layers—the chador, the glass and finally the pain—that separate the subject and viewer. All these portraits are executed in a studio; thus they are not documentary, yet nonetheless achieve a compelling commentary on contemporary society, and the situation of women in particular. All images of women in Iran must be shown in hijab and instead of trying to escape this or seeing it as a constraint, Shadi Ghadirian has made it her theme as she continues to investigate the condition of women in her home country. (117)