“Revolving: a family tale” — Sona Safaei-Sooreh

ona Safaei-Sooreh’s “Revolving: a family tale” (2021) tells the story of Iran’s unique semi-colonial history through caricatures and narrative. The term “semicolonial” is used by Safaei-Sooreh to refer to how Iran faced a period of policy influence and regime change, instead of direct colonization, by the West. Presented as a single installation composed of newspaper comic strips, video, and light boxes displaying cartoon figures, Safaei-Sooreh narrates Iran’s contentious relationship with the West, catalyzed by the nationalization of Iran’s oil alongside contrasting footage of a British Petroleum (BP) executive speaking on Iran. The split-screen video satirizes BP’s relationship to Iran’s oil industry, with Britain represented as Cinderella’s extractive, evil stepmother.