Describing herself as a “cultural collage between East and Western philosophy” the work of Iranian-born artist Sohelia Sokhanvari shuttles between political
commentary and symbolic totem. Her taxidermied sculptures appeal to the literary genre of magic realism, in which ‘reality’ is punctured with fantastical events, revealing meanings more profound that naturalism could hope to do. Sokhanvari points to the use of the form as a method by which artists have been able to “create an open-ended narrative to promote or resist a totalitarian political system”.

Visual metaphors abound in her work that deals implicitly with the Iranian state. The title Moje Sabz speaks to the ‘Green Movement’ uprising of 2009, in which violent protesters’ demonstrations lead to the annulment of a fraudulent election result.

© Natasha Hoare, 2015