Following the confiscation of his passport shortly before he was due to travel to the UK, Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli has been accused of ‘disturbing public peace’, Artnet reports. His sculptures have been targeted as the source of the dispute, though there is some speculation over whether it is in fact due to the book he recently published and which he was on his way to give a talk about at the British Museum at the beginning of July. The book, European Women in Persian Houses, which is said to contain several images of nudes including a bare-breasted woman on the front cover, goes against the views of conservative Islamic society. Tanavoli’s passport has not yet been returned and the accusations against him may lead to a fine, or imprisonment.
13 July 2016
