Montreal-based Sayeh Sarfaraz pays homage to Iranian women persecuted by the Islamic regime in her latest exhibition, Femme at Galerie Jano Lapin. Sarfaraz unveils the bright side of her Persian cultural heritage to denounce the repressive system she herself had to flee.

Her work draws from the legacy of the Kachkai people, the largest nomadic people on the planet known for the art of weaving and the exceptional quality of Persian carpets since the 11th century.

A culture that was once radiant

“Sarfaraz reverses the erasure of feminine identity by injecting strength and light into these portraits, which take shape in the work by revealing the beauty of a culture that was once radiant,” the gallery says.

Femme – the exhibition title echoes Woman, Life, Freedom, the political slogan first used in 2006 and then echoed by the Iranian freedom movement following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. 

Sayeh Sarfaraz was born in Shiraz, the cultural capital of Iran. A graduate of the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg (France), she has been living in Montreal since 2009. Her work has been widely exhibited, including in Montreal, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, Dubai and London.

Her website, here.

Her Instagram, here.

At Galerie Jano Lapin, here.

Image at top of post: via Galerie Jano Lapin here, photo by Michael Patten