Soheila Sokhanvari, Hey Baby, I'm A Star (Forouzan), 2019

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Hey Baby, I’m a Star (Forouzan), 2019

Forouzan (also spelled Foroozan) was born Parvin Kheir-Bakhsh on 9 August 1937 in Bandar-e Anzali north of Iran. Born two years after unveiling of Iranian women by Reza Shah of Iran, her childhood was spent in a country torn between religious conservatives and more liberal city inhabitants particularly in Tehran. Not much is known about her childhood or her family background, but she started her career by dubbing films, and later had a chance to act small parts in movies. However, she became famous for her sex appeal and her risqué dances in films, which made her extremely appealing to the largely male audience of the then Iranian cinema so much so that her presence in any film was the guarantee for the financial success of the production. Pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema was largely akin to Bollywood films and young female actors like Forouzan had little opportunity to take serious parts, which perhaps is not far from the plight of Western actors like Marilyn Monroe. Forouzan appeared on many Iranian magazine covers and was an icon for many young women and young girls.
After the Islamic revolution in 1979, Forouzan remained in Iran despite the fact that many of her contemporaries fled the country, however, she was banned from playing in movies and grew more and more isolated. She rarely conducted interviews and died on 24 January 2016 in Tehran. Her popularity remained intact despite not having acted in a new film since 1978.
This painting is based on a photograph of the actor in 1970’s, her posture captures her come-to-bed eyes that she was famous for, her figure is set within a tightly patterned surrounding that symbolises the restricted environment of the Iranian patriarchal society, trapped like a butterfly unable to move.

Soheila Sokhanvari: Addicted to Love

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