Acts of Resistance: Photography Feminisms and the Art of Protest at the South London Gallery review

Women’s stories and solidarity. Feminism and Activism. Photography.

Hoda Afshar, Untitled #14 from the In Turn series, 2023. © Hoda Afshar. Installation Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest, 2024. South London Gallery. Photo: Jo Underhill.

Acts of Resistance: Photography Feminisms and the Art of Protest is an extremely poignant, important and beautiful exhibition of women, women’s voices, choices, resilience through photography, social media and digital technology to push boundaries of activism and protesting even further than what it already is. Photography has for years documented actions, inspired change, fought against injustice, shared ideas, gathered evidence, and revealed gruesome facts. This exhibition has works from numerous international artists who have used the camera to challenge what traditional photography meant, to explore how today this form of news sharing reaches millions all across the world.

Installation view Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest, 2024. South London Gallery. Photo: Jo Underhill

What could be more powerful than the ‘Woman. Life. Freedom’ movement in Iran? It started following the death of a young beautiful girl, Mahsa Zhina Amini by the hands of the “morality police”. The ongoing movement continues to inspire with its astonishing and powerful art, both past and present. Photos have captured the strength of the movement, the unity of women fighting the same battle, their bravery, their love and care. Hoda Afshar’s work hanging from the ceiling in the main gallery, the first major piece seen in the exhibition, is a response to this movement. It shows the “daily ritual in which female fighters in the mountains plait each other’s hair while chanting ‘Woman. Life. Freedom’’’.

Defying the enforced mandatory hijab rules by the regime has been a constant battle for the last 45 years in Iran, and the bravery of the women fighters is heartwarming and heartbreaking, formidable and influential. These women know what awaits them all, they can be caught, they can be tortured, they can be imprisoned. Photos capturing these instances, the beauty of women, their power and strength and their bravery show photography’s value as an irreplaceable tool for protest as it is easily distributed and accessed anywhere and by all.

Installation view Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest, 2024. South London Gallery. Photo: Jo Underhill

The group exhibition at the South London Gallery is in collaboration with the V&A Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project and has brought “together works by international artists and collectives who are using the camera to challenge and move beyond traditional protest photography”. So much remains unspoken, a plethora of vulnerabilities yet to be addressed. However, women are seizing control, boldly vocalising their rights and unleashing the fierce determination within them. How are they achieving this? Many through photography, through this very accessible and beautiful medium. They now have an expanded reach and this exhibition effortlessly guides us through these narratives, frame by frame.

Date: 8 March - 9 June 2024. Location: South London Gallery, 65–67 Peckham Road London SE5 8UH. Price: Free. Website: southlondongallery.org.

Words by Massoumeh Safinia