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Shahnameh, the Perpetual Narrative

Curated by Akram Ahmadi Tavana

Opening at Aaran Projects on August 14th 2020

Curtain II
Curated by Akram Ahamdi Tavana
Featuring works by:
Mortez Momayez-Samira Alikhanzadeh- Yasmin Sinai-Nasim Davari- Mahsa Kheirkhah-Homayoun Sirizi-Parisa Taghipour-Hamed Jaberha-Parham Peyvandi

This year marks the Millennium of the passing ofEpic Poet of Persians, Hakim Abul Ghasem Ferdowsi, whose Shahnameh, The Book of Kings, is credited with preserving our language and Persian history. To mark this occasion, we are exhibiting works by nine artists, with diverse practices, as a continuation of a project that started five years ago. On March 4th, 2016, we held an exhibition titled Shahnameh, The Perpetual Narrative: A survey of the Impact of Shahnameh on modern and contemporary art of Iran, curated by Akram Ahmadi Tavana. The catalog’s foreword was by Dr.Firuza Melville and included works of twenty-two artists.
Shahnameh’s influence remains strong in the poetry and visual arts of Iran. The selection for this exhibition is merely a portion of this enduring fascination with thousands of verses recalling the glory and splendor as well as failures and defeats of Persians, to quote Shahrokh Meskoob, “the history of the victory of defeat.”