Sous le ciel de Shiraz (Sharok & Arthur) (Under the Sky of Shiraz [Sharok & Arthur])

This work was part of Looking 101, a 2024 exhibition that supported Northwestern University’s undergraduate curriculum with an emphasis on first-year students.The following text was made available in the exhibition via cell phone camera (QR code) and booklet

Alireza Shojaian makes work to reflect on the queer history of West Asia and his own experiences as a queer Iranian. Under the Sky of Shiraz (Sharok & Arthur) presents a portrait of two bearded men wearing traditional clothing associated with Pahlevani and Zourkhaneh rituals— a form of martial arts originally used to train warriors in ancient Persia and heavily influenced by spirituality. Their pose offers a gentle version of a typical stance taken by Persian wrestlers when posing for photographs. Shojaian explains he made the work to "reclaim and redefine [Pahlevani and religious] ideologies [that] have historically been used against individuals like Sharok and Arthur. Both of them [are] openly gay—with one of Persian Iraqi origin and the other French—[and] have backgrounds in the gay adult film industry and have encountered discrimination."