Iranian artist, Soheila Sokhanvari, met us last Thursday 12th November at Kristin Hjellegjerde gallery to reveal her latest exhibition.
Her portraits and sculptures tell of the presence and absence of loved ones, both physical and in time. Soheila’s portraits are very personal yet resonate within us all.
Her work is many layered, based on one hand on family polaroids, and on the other strongly influenced by miniature-painting learnt from her father. In her sculptures, Soheil
a uses Jesmonite: her first being her 2011 graduation work, a stuffed horse on a blue orb – a striking piece now in the Saatchi collection and to be shown at the Saatchi Gallery in 2016. She has also used Jesmonite for her exceptional sculpture “self-portrait”, created to fill her absence in a family photo, reclaiming her presence in a past event. “This is clearly where I should have been in the family photo, but instead I was in England. The sculpture fills the negative space.” Her three-dimensional hair pieces woven into calf vellum also work around this message while exploring the relationships and rules pertaining to hair throughout history. Lastly, a room is dedicated to delicate drawings executed with the last remaining crude oil that she smuggled out of Iran. Throughout her work the combination of ancient craft and contemporary application reflects an intimate dialogue between the present and the past – a delightful exhibition
For more information about the work, please contact: [email protected].
About the Artist
Soheila Sokhanvari was born in Iran. She is a multimedia artist who graduated from the Chelsea College of Art and Design before studying at Goldsmith. She holds a degree in art history from Anglia Ruskin University, and has studied biochemistry at postgraduate level. Her work reflects the notion of displacement caused by migration and the subjective and fragmented understanding of important historical events of the past. She is regularly mentioned in the art press as a top emerging artist.