Soheila Sokhanvari Honors the Untold Stories of Irans Feminist Icons

About three months after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Soheila Sokhanvari was in the nurse’s office at her new school in the U.K. suffering an upset stomach. An old TV in an adjacent room was idly playing the news—flickering with violent images of protest in Iran, as thousands united in remonstrance of the nation’s government. The volume was set to low, and music from a dance class across the hall filled the corridors. From that moment on, Sokhanvari’s every memory of the revolution has been recalled to the beat of “Boogie Wonderland.”

It’s not unusual for traditional Persian miniatures to borrow their titles from songs and folklore, but to Sokhanvari, Bowie’s Diamond Dogs classic harnessed her paintings’ sentiment like no other. “These are women who were considered whores both by the conservatives and their own families,” the artist explains, “and I wanted to show my reverence for them. I wanted the song’s lyrics to become a banner for the exhibition: ‘Rebel rebel, how could they know? Hot tramp, I love you so!’”

Soheila Sokhanvari at the “Rebel Rebel” installation at Barbican Centre.

From her choice of subjects—many of whom are relatively unknown, even in Iran —to the way in which she renders them, Sokhanvari’s works are steeped in symbolism. She works with egg tempera and paints onto calf vellum—a material signaling a renouncement of the individual due to the calf’s sacrificial role in monotheistic religion. They are exhibited in the Barbican’s Curve against a dizzying mural based on Islamic geometries to deliberately induce delirium, resulting in what she calls “a radical decentering,” which disarms the viewer to allow for a deeper contemplation of these women’s stories.

The portraits in Rebel Rebel paint a reverential and nostalgic picture of the feminist icons of Iran's past, but also serve as a pertinent reminder of the severe and fatal consequences Iranian women have faced in pursuit of their own autonomy for decades. Sokhanvari’s tribute to Iran’s feminist rebels traces a largely untold history that is fundamental in the understanding of the present, and in shaping a better future. “I see the project as pivotal in the story of Iranian culture,” she explains. “I felt these women were fast becoming forgotten, and it was essential they be immortalized to provide an alternative narrative of Iranian women for a new audience.”

As Rebel Rebel opens in London, Sokhanvari shares the stories of four of the women within its paintings.

Roohangiz Saminejad (1916-1997)

Soheila Sokhanvari, The Lor Girl (Portrait of Roohangiz Saminejad). Courtesy of the artist.

“Roohangiz is the first woman to appear in Rebel Rebel. She was the first woman to star in a Persian-language film, and appeared unveiled. I remember Roohangiz speaking in an interview about the death threats she received for her appearance in Lor Girl (1934)and having to live in anonymity for years afterward. Filmmaker Abdolhossein Sepenta had to shoot the movie in India, because it was still taboo to appear without a veil in Iran at that time.”

Kobra Saeedi (b. 1946)

Soheila Sokhanvari, Kobra (Portrait of Kobra Saeedi). Courtesy of the artist.

“Better known as Shahrzad, Kobra Saeedi was born to a very conservative family who strongly objected to her wanting to become an actor. She ran away from home in her late teens and put herself through college by performing in downtown theater and dancing in cabaret. By 1978, she had starred in 27 movies and directed three. She was also a renowned poet and dancer. Following the 1979 revolution—like many of her contemporaries—she was arrested and taken to Evin Prison. After signing a letter of penitence and confiscation of all her assets, she was released. She was abandoned by her family, and consequently became homeless. It wasn’t until 2015, when owing to the generosity of some of her past contemporaries, and a documentary film made about her life, she was given a small one-bedroom hut in slums outside Tehran.”

Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967)

Soheila Sokhanvari, Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season (Portrait of Forough Farrokhzad). Courtesy of the artist.

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