An Iranian Artist's Tribute to her Homeland through the Magic of Paint
Delicately crafted and richly symbolic, Sohelia Sokhanvari's miniatures pay homage to her cherished homeland, weaving together the contrasting threads of tradition and change, offering a glimpse into the vibrant tapestry of pre-revolutionary Iran
Soheila Sokhanvari's exhibition "We Could Be Heroes..." is named after David Bowie's 1977 hit "Heroes," a song that holds a special significance for the Iranian-born artist based in the UK. Just like the lovers in Bowie's song who are divided by the Berlin Wall, Sokhanvari was also separated from her homeland and loved ones due to the 1979 Revolution.
This experience is reflected in her colorful and intricate miniature paintings, which depict a vaguely remembered time before the revolution, where both progressive and conservative values existed, albeit with tension. Her artwork also resurrects symbols of the Islamic Republic that were targeted for destruction.
In "Conquest of the Garden," Sokhanvari's mother can be seen sitting on a chintzy chair in a walled garden decorated in bold Islamic tiles. Fists rise up from the flowerbeds.
The artist Sokhanvari, now 59, came to the UK in 1978 at the age of 14 to live with family friends, her first time being away from her loved ones. The original plan was for her to receive education in the UK before going back to Iran, but the revolution changed everything.
The artists way
Sokhanvari, speaking from her home in Cambridge via Zoom, expressed, "Overnight I lost access to everyone I loved, my language, my culture, everything." Finding solace in a family photo album packed by her mother, she turned to drawing from the images. "When I was drawing, the people in the photos came alive and I could relive that moment again. It helped me cope with the longing for my family and my people," she reflected.
Sokhanvari had always dreamt of being an artist, but she initially pursued a career as a research scientist to fulfill her mother's wishes. However, she always felt disconnected from the profession. "I felt like I didn't belong in the world of science," she said.
After a serious cycling accident in 1997, Sokhanvari was inspired to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. "I made a promise to myself that if I recovered from my injuries, I would pursue art. I didn't want to have any regrets in my life," she explained.
A serious cycling accident 25 years ago led Soheila Sokhanvari to follow her dream of becoming an artist.
Daniele Mah
In her early work, Sokhanvari used Iranian crude oil - the discovery of which in 1908 would lead to international intrigue, coups, and violence - to create sepia-tinged drawings of family holidays and popular culture in pre-revolutionary Iran. The nostalgic pictures suggest that we are all involved in these histories through our use of oil. "There isn't a person on this planet who hasn't used crude oil in some way. It's in our clothes, in plastic, in paints," said Sokhanvari. The images urge us to recognize that the politics surrounding its production and supply "comes with environmental, economic, and human cost," she said.
Female photographers in Iran are making a mark with their work, with Sokhanvari becoming particularly renowned for her later miniatures. She uses egg tempera on calf vellum, employing a squirrel hair brush in a time-consuming process that takes her between six and 12 weeks to complete each small painting, working a minimum of 12 hours a day.
"Bang" shows actor Faranak Mirghaharinwell known in Iran in the 1960sholding a gun.
Artist Courtesy/Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
The Barbican in London warmly received the first major solo show, "Rebel Rebel", featuring a series of female performers silenced by the revolution. Critics praised the exhibition, with Jackie Wullschläger of The Financial Times applauding the "defiantly joyful art" and Jonathan Jones of The Guardian describing it as "the opposite of instant art."
The surreal paintings of women by Iranian artists have taken on a new sense of urgency. Sokhanvari's initial inspiration for her miniatures came from family photographs that had provided comfort during her childhood. "My father and mother were my muses, characters around whom I developed stories," she explained. Before the revolution, her father worked as a fashion designer and model and encouraged her beehive-wearing mother to embrace western fashions. However, her grandmother held more traditional views. "In the same family, there was a stark contrast between those who embraced western ideologies and those who rejected them," she reflected.
Starman (2020). The artist uses some traditional Persian techniques to create her work.
Artist courtesy/Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery.
Addressing conflicted ideologies through the fusion of Western and Islamic patterns in her artwork, the artist explains, "I combined the two because these individuals are attempting to navigate the two conflicting cultures." In "Conquest of the Garden" (2016), her mother is depicted seated in a vibrant walled garden adorned with striking Islamic tiles, while fists emerge from the flowerbeds.
Shining a spotlight on the hidden
In 2019, Sokhavani shifted his focus to Iranian female performers, such as the actress Kobra Saeedi, who were unable to continue their work after the 1979 revolution. Many artists were banned from public performances, singing, and dancing, and some were even imprisoned and reportedly tortured. The new regime sought to eliminate any evidence of their existence by burning their films and destroying their images.
Sokhanvari, who discovered her true passion for art later in life, felt a deep personal connection to creating portraits of others. "I just imagined how I would feel if I were unable to create my art," she said.
Sokhanvari's subjects are "enveloped in a riot of pattern and color, as they call out across the decades to be remembered."
Courtesy the artist/Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
Using online images, Sokhanvari resurrects these women in their prime, creating modern-day martyr portraits of a generation of women whose lives were destroyed. Some are captured in dramatic poses, while others recline comfortably on a sofa, but all are surrounded by a riot of pattern and color as they call out across the decades to be remembered. Thanks to the UK-based Persian language TV channel Manoto, who interviewed Sokhanvari when "Rebel Rebel" was on, many Iranians now know that they have been.
Sokhanvari refrains from naming individuals out of concern for their safety, but she reveals that several of her subjects reached out to her through Instagram after watching the program via satellite in Iran. The portraits could not be displayed in Iran (the only work Sokhanvari has ever exhibited there are drawings she sent to an artist friend in 2015), but at least the women were aware of their existence. "They said that it felt like a Renaissance for them," she recalled. "They were so grateful to have been given a platform."
Gardens also feature often in Sokhanvari's work, as here in "Cowboy Ali" (2015).
Courtesy the artist/Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
Emmy Award-winning actor Shohreh Aghdashloo, one of Sokhanvari's subjects who successfully continued her career after leaving Iran following the revolution, traveled from Los Angeles to the UK to attend the show. "All of these women were her friends. She was thrilled that their stories were being shared," Sokhanvari remarked.
She expressed cautious optimism about the future of Iran, citing an increasingly secular younger generation and more men supporting women as reasons for hope. "If everyone takes a stand, we will triumph, and the next generation will create a better Iran," Sokhanvari stated. "It's important to hold onto hope, isn't it?"
Sheila Sokhanvari "We Could Be Heroes" is on at the Heong Gallery, Cambridge, UK, until 4 February 2024.
