Soheila Sokhanvari, Shahrzad The Storyteller , 2020

Shahrzad The Storyteller
2013
Iranian crude oil, lapis Lazuli, Malachite, real silver, 22 CT gold, glitter, egg tempera on calf vellum.

Shahrzad is the main character in the “One Thousand and One Nights” which is a collection of tales that themselves trace their roots back to ancient and medieval Persian literature based on Persian, Arabic, Indian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish folklore and fiction. The main frame of the story concerns a Persian King Shahryār who is shocked to learn that his brother's wife is unfaithful and on discovering that his own wife's infidelity has been even more flagrant, he has her killed. In his bitterness and grief, he decides that all women are the same. Shahryār begins to marry a succession of virgins only to execute each one the next morning, before she has a chance to dishonour him. Eventually Shahrazād, (Persian شهْرزاد) the daughter of the Vizier (Chief Counsellor), offers herself as the next bride and her father reluctantly agrees. On the night of their marriage, Shahrzad begins to tell the king a tale that does not end by the morning, the king, curious about how the story ends, is thus forced to postpone her execution in order to hear the conclusion. The next night, as soon as she finishes the tale, she begins another one, and the king, eager to hear the conclusion of that tale as well, postpones her execution once again. This goes on for one thousand and one nights by the end of which the king falls in love with Shahrzad and her strategy for survival is successful. This story reflects the prevailing order of patriarchal society in Iran which historically means that while in the real-world men controlled everything, in the dream world of stories women reigned supreme. Shahrzad as the narrator employed the technique of narrative within a narrative combined with metaphors, riddles and humour to give advice, pose political questions, criticize elements of life and lay challenges to the King. The One Thousand and One Nights stories fall under anonymous writer(s) and Shahrzad’s stories include “Aladin", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor", — which were not part of the collection in its original Persian version but were added to the collection by later writers.

Shahrzad here is a contemporary queen, as she is wearing 60’s style earrings, adorned with a tiara sitting on a chair that reflects the circular Islamic geometric pattern behind her. The geometric pattern in Islamic art is thought to reflect the language of the stars, universe and help the believer to reflect on life and the greatness of creation, that here frames her as the spiritual woman. Her hair is inspired by the artist’s love of watching Star Trek as a child a modern story of man’s desire to venture into discovering of the universe. Her hair not only makes her as a strange awe-inspiring woman but acts as an antenna to collect the energy from the universe. She holds a Lilly in her hand the symbolic meaning has come to include faith, hope, and wisdom and since it is purple it means royalty.