Farideh Lashai

The Estate of Farideh Lashai

Dubai, XVA Gallery, Farideh Lashai, 2007

"Maybe you see everything in this way because you have passed by these walls. These silent, colorless walls. The bombardments have not yet struck, over there. But Tehran has been hit. I have heard that they've hit Lahijan, too. And yet the sands of that far off beach roll. Sand covers sand and resets in the mind of a four-year-old child so moved by seeing an epileptic that to this day she has not overcome it."

Farideh Lashai, Shâl bâmou (The Jackal Came), 2003                                                                         

The Jackal Came (Shâl bâmou in the dialect of northern Iran), the novel Lashai published in Farsi in 2008, is a voyage in time, the beginning and end of which are so far removed from one another that what lies between can only be conceived as a maelstrom of times and spaces, revolutions, ideologies, global movements and memories of childhood on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The beauty of these memories has been best captured in her Caspian Sea series. It is an attempt to capture a peaceful memory, a light breeze of a scene that has been long sinking with the gravity of obscene historical violence. 

A leading female Iranian artist who unfortunately passed away before her time, Lashai worked across a broad range of media. Initially formal compositions such as paintings and drawings, in later years she experimented with video installations projected onto canvases to create visually engaging narratives. Lashai was an innovative master who embraced contemporaneity, developing her style to assume a modern aesthetic whilst maintaining her individuality and a distinctive style.  Her works are synonymously appreciated by various generations and cultures. Lashai has been regarded and respected as an Iranian master who was at the forefront of her artistic sphere, with works included in leading museum establishments and private collections.