As simple as it is, this work depicts the singer Giti from her album “Yeh del daram” (I Have a Heart) from 1969, who, like many artists, had to leave Iran after the revolution in 1979. Until  today, women are not allowed to sing in public spaces in the country. The question is taken from Afrang Nordlöf Malekian’s Master’s thesis in August 2022 on Iranian music production in Los Angeles. He follows the fictive character Setareh, who, on her search for success in Los Angeles, faces this issue. Interestingly, new meanings were added to the inquiry with the start of the 2022 protests in Iran.

Photo: Bo Forsander