Artist presentation

Sanna Sjöswärd

is a Swedish-Iranian photographer and artist based in Stockholm. Born in Tehran and raised in Sweden, her work often explores identity, belonging, and the lives of women across cultural boundaries. She works primarily in documentary photography, focusing on themes of memory, displacement, and inner strength. Sjöswärd has exhibited widely in Sweden and abroad, and her long-term projects have been published, awarded, and featured in national media. With a unique ability to build trust and intimacy, she combines visual storytelling with strong social engagement.

Artist statement

Two Faces is a personal and documentary photo project about young women’s lives in Tehran. Between 2013 and 2019, I travelled back to Iran to portray women navigating the tensions between visibility and silence, control and expression. I often photographed through windows both as a metaphor and a method to offer them a safe space to be seen without fear. Their reflections blend with the light and surroundings, creating layered portraits of identity and resistance. As someone born in Tehran but raised in Sweden, this project mirrors my own duality – between cultures, languages, and expectations. The women I met carry their own “two faces”: one that conforms, one that longs. This project is about those quiet moments of defiance, joy, and vulnerability. About what it means to be seen and to claim your space in a world that tries to define you.