Following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody, numerous images of the uprisings in Iran once again demonstrated photography’s emancipatory power. Despite the increasing manipulability of photography and a corresponding growth of distrust in it, the medium continues to play a vital role in the context of protest movements.
In the work of the Iranian-born, US-based artist Raha Raissnia, it is precisely the act of manipulation, the diverse techniques by means of which she processes her photographic, filmic, and painterly material, which imbues her images with unruly potential. The artist’s multilayered, ambiguous compositions suggest the fragility of prevailing narratives along with the necessity of their renegotiation.
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