Sheida Soleimani is an Iranian-American artist and the daughter of two political refugees. During the revolution that look place in Iran in 1979, her parents were targeted for their activism against the regime, her father escaping across the border and her mother tortured. Taking a critical perspective, Soleimani's series National Anthem explores Iran's turbulent past and present through still life and self portrait. "Each of the photographs" she says "addresses a specific time in Iranian history, while alluding to how both the East and West have responded to societal occurrences. Through incorporating multiple layers, the lexicon can be read and refashioned by the viewers’ ideologies, creating images that remain coeval, while acknowledging former origins."
Text by Alexis Lodsun
