Sheida Soleimani
Safehouse, 2024
Archival pigment print
101.6 x 76.2 cm
40 x 30 in
40 x 30 in
Edition of 3 plus 2 AP
Copyright the artist & Harlan Levey Projects
In Safehouse, Sheida Soleimani revisits her father’s flight from Iran, when he hid in a network of safe houses for political refugees. One belonged to a fellow exile who, like...
In Safehouse, Sheida Soleimani revisits her father’s flight from Iran, when he hid in a network of safe houses for political refugees. One belonged to a fellow exile who, like her father, opposed both the Shah and the Ayatollah, in a rare stance of dual resistance. This host played chess, or Shatranj, the Persian precursor to the modern game, with each guest who passed through. In this photograph, her father holds a knight above a glass chessboard, evoking that encounter while allowing the game’s symbolism to speak to the acts of calculation, resilience, and trust that shaped his survival.