Soody
Sharifi, an Iranian American, Houston-based artist, illustrates the
complexities of cultural identity through her work. Iran’s steadfast grip on
tradition often exists in tension with the globalized nature of the world.
Sharifi’s series Moslem Youth focuses
on Iranian teens as they navigate the two spheres, capturing the teens in
intimate moments of play, grooming, and introspection. Shot in
post-revolutionary Iran, the series challenges both Muslim conventions of
modesty and Western stereotypes of Iranian life.

The
title of this picture, Stairway to Heaven,
references the song by English rock band Led Zeppelin and, in a tongue-in-cheek
manner, depicts such a stairway. Conservative values and strict Islamic laws
forbid young people from dating in public, so they often meet in private.
Sharifi portrays that practice here, staging the photograph in an abandoned
house whose owners were among the many Iranians fleeing the country after the
1979 revolution. Although the scene is slightly taboo and rebellious, the soft
light and elegant spiral imbue it with a reassuring peacefulness.