On the 24th of September 2007, at the University of Colombia, the former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said, « unlike in your country, in Iran we don’t have any homosexuals ». Nowadays, while many Western countries have accepted gay marriages, in Iran homosexuality is still punishable by the death penalty. This sanction forbids homosexuals to live freely. Their only options are to choose transexuality, a practice that is tolerated, but considered as an illness, or to flee.
Hundreds of Iranian homosexual refugees transit by Denizli, a small Turkish town, where they put their lives on hold while waiting to find a country where they can freely live their sexuality. In this context of uncertainty, where anonymity is the best protection, this work questions the fragile notion of identity and gender. It tries to give back to these people an image that their country has momentarily stolen.
Laurence Rasti won The 2015 Jury Prize with her series There are no homosexuals in Iran. The prize is an award of 1000 euros, plus the purchase for the value of 2500 euros, of one or more prints by the Town of Montpellier for its permanent collection.
EXHIBITION
In part of Boutographies 2015
Laurence Rasti
Il n’y a pas d’homosexuels en Iran
4 – 26 April, 2015
La Panacée
14 rue de l’école de Pharmacie
34000 Montpellier
France
http://www.boutographies.com
http://www.laurencerasti.ch
