Bahram (from the series "The Book of Kings")

Iranian photographer and filmmaker Shirin Neshat breathes new life into the interplay between image and narrative, a traditional hallmark of Persian culture. This full-length portrait depicts a seated elderly laan. Tattooed on the flesh of his chest is an army in battle order. These scenes in ink remind us of the illustrated plates of the traditional folk storytellers of the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), an epic poem by Ferdowsi penned around the year 1000, a cornerstone of Persian identity.