CULTURE CLUB
HEONG GALLERY We Could Be Heroes... Like the two lovers separated by the Berlin Wall in David Bowie’s iconic 1977 anthem of a troubled city, Iranian-British artist Soheila Sokhanvari’s upcoming exhibition – taking its name from the song – echoes themes of separation and longing. In We Could Be Heroes... , showing at the Heong Gallery from 5 October 2023 to 4 February 2024, Bowie’s wall is replaced by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as well as the fracture between Soheila and her home country – a place she no longer recognises. For exhibition curator Dr Prerona Prasad, the Heong Gallery is the ideal location to display Soheila’s collection of modern miniatures, as a place that invites contemplation and a closer look. “Sokhanvari’s art reflects on a vision of Iran that only survives in the memories of those who grew up in the country before 1979. The message is one of solidarity and hope: a reminder that Iranians, and Iranian women in particular, have a long history of resistance and resurgence,” she shares. The display follows three core strands: portraits of prominent female voices silenced by the revolution, paintings of the artist’s loved ones composed from pre-revolution photographs and a series of drawings that tackle Iran’s struggle for democracy through the lens of one of its most precious commodities – crude oil. In a poignant interplay of meaning and material, Soheila brings to life faded black and white family photographs in miniature drawings formed by layer upon layer of crude oil, reminiscent of the sepia tones of old holiday snapshots. Elsewhere, repurposing traditional mediums to deliver powerful messages, Conquest of the Garden depicts the artist’s mother on a garden chair, as clenched fists sprout from flower beds. Made using egg tempera on vellum, in the mode of centuries of Iranian miniature painting, the art lends its voice to a message that gained new prominence in the country’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement. An undeniably beautiful display, We Could Be Heroes... is a moving showcase of the complicated relationships between the social, the political and the individual.
PICTURES OF THE PAST Me and Dad, crude oil miniature series (top left);
Conquest of the Garden (top right); She’s a Rainbow, portrait of Shoorangiz Tabatabaee (bottom)
5 Oct 2023 – 4 Feb 2024
10 OCTOBER 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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