Elham Hemmat, Docile Bodies 1, Series 2026, ceramic sculpture, c. 9.5 x 23 x 4.5 cm
Year: 2026
Medium(s): ceramic
Size: 9.5 x 23 x 1 / 4.5 cm (width x height x depth body / head)
(It can be hung using a metal hook at the back)
Artwork exhibited as part of ‘Gallery 545: Contemporary Art of Northern Ireland’, La Roche House, Belfast & ONLINE 29 May – 6 June 2026.
- £170.00
Shipping - Artwork currently exhibited. Collection from Belfast on/after 6 June, or shipped in 3-5 business days from the end of the exhibition.
Return - This work is eligible for return.
Artist - Selected Recognitions
- Award-winning artist (winner of several awards, including the first prize at the International Biennial of Theatre Poster in Rzeszow, Poland and the first prize at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival in Teheran, Iran)
- Works in various public collections (including those of the Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Japan and the Museum of Human Rights in Canada)
- Extensively exhibited internationally in many countries around the world
- Saatchi artist
Further information
Artist’s commentary about Docile Bodies, Series 2026
‘In this series, I focus on the female body as a site of societal control and personal disconnection. Through my work, I explore how oppressive systems shape and distort the embodied experience of women, drawing directly from my own lived reality.
This body of work is deeply autobiographical. It reflects my experience of growing up as a woman in Iran under a controlling society, and the lasting impact this has had on my sense of self and identity. The recurring question that haunts these pieces is: Who would I have become if I had grown up in a different society?
I was required to wear the hijab from the age of six, first at school and then throughout public life. This enforced covering instilled in me a deep sense of shame toward my own body whenever it was uncovered. Over time, this constant surveillance created a profound alienation. I felt increasingly distant from my own physical self. These works are my attempt to process and visualise that estrangement.
Visually, the series features simplified, almost primitive triangular forms that evoke the draped silhouette of the hijab. These shapes are devoid of the conventional markers we associate with the female body, breasts, hips, or facial features, and are uniformly covered in a dense black texture that directly references the mandatory black hijab. Yet beneath this oppressive surface, subtle variations emerge: delicate lines, textures, colours, or fragmented elements that hint at the unique identity, personality, and inner life of each individual woman. What appears monolithic from the outside reveals complexity, difference, and quiet resistance when examined more closely.’
Find out more on the artist's page.
