Ghostwriter

Sheida Soleimani’s work can be seen in a two-part exhibition as part of Capture Photography Festival, Vancouver (April 2026) and CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto (May 2026).

Soleimani constructs detailed compositions that marry photographs, props, found objects, live animals, and people to create magical, dream-like montages. Deliberately combining her familial history with the political, Soleimani’s practice considers her cultural inheritance, the environment, and migration, all through evocative, visually sumptuous pictures.

On view as part of CONTACT are Agitator and Dissident (both 2023), again centring the artist’s parents. For these works, Soleimani has constructed elaborate backdrops, which she photographed with her parents situated therein. Unlike standard portraits, the purpose of which is to capture likeness, both individuals face away from the camera, denying viewers access to their faces, thereby creating both singular portraits and anonymous figures. There is a long history of painted portraits featuring husbands and wives, often used to demonstrate wealth and social status. In these images, however, both her parents raise their fists, typically a gesture of solidarity, power, and resistance, often with a political movement. This gesture of defiance against authority, along with the titles of the works, serves to suggest her parents’ political beliefs, a critical part of the artist’s family narrative embedded in much of her work.