“The Other Side of Silence (Portrait of Googoosh), 2021. Mixed Lapis Lazuli, egg tempera on calf vellum. Actual size 14x19cms, framed in a 30x40 cm frame. Googoosh, born Faegheh Atashin...
“The Other Side of Silence (Portrait of Googoosh), 2021. Mixed Lapis Lazuli, egg tempera on calf vellum. Actual size 14x19cms, framed in a 30x40 cm frame.
Googoosh, born Faegheh Atashin in 1950, is the biggest and the most favourite of the pop stars in the history of Iran. Her career began at the age of three, when her father, an acrobat and performer placed her in a show to replace his own performance. During the revolution of 1979, Googoosh was in the US but returned to Tehran despite fears of being arrested. Soon after her return to Iran Googoosh was called to sign a letter of Tobeh(repentance) which meant she wasn’t allowed to sing anymore and like many female performers in Iran she fell silent. In 2000 Googoosh was finally granted a passport and allowed to leave the country for the first time since the revolution. That year she staged her first world tour, which began in Toronto, where she settled for a time before moving to Los Angeles. She continues to create new albums and sing internationally. The painting is based on a photograph taken in 1960’s, where the singer is depicted in a contemplative pose, the title refers to the gap in her singing career.
