Ashkoob: Persian Mandala Ceiling

Discover ceilings from buildings inspired by Iranian architecture, where looking up is a spellbinding experience! Each has a design and a story of its own. Most of them are distinctive and unique for their architecture and hold outstanding features.

Curator Statement
Ashkoob: Persian Mandela Ceilings, is an expedition in Iranian architecture through photos of ceilings from buildings inspired by Iranian architecture by Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji, an Iranian architectural photographer.
Ashkoob is a thousands-of-years old Persian word  meaning ceiling. In this exhibition we try to present how Iranian architecture encompasses a wide range of secular and religious styles through history, from the early periods of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Iran and beyond.
This exhibition explores the stunning patterns and marvels of principle Iranian architectural forms such as mosques, mausoleums and shrines, palaces, forts, schools, and urban buildings, for which Iranian architecture developed a rich vocabulary that was also used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains, and domestic architecture. These numerous structures, scattered around Iran, all have breathtaking ceilings. Each has a design and a story of its own and most are distinctive and unique with respect to their architecture and outstanding features. Thus, from a curatorial point of view, it was not an easy task to select photos for this collection, but in order to introduce some of these marvellous captures, we chose the ceilings that we found most spellbinding.

Arash Safavi
Curator

Artist Statement
Art has an important societal function. It should connect people spiritually, open up minds, and inspire. It should also touch emotionally and enable communication. And, finally, pure art as we define it, geometric art, is predestined to do this. It is based on both old cultural and spiritual traditions, geometry and mathematics being universal fundamentals and expressions of eternal laws. Certain types of repetitions, patterns, and proportions are based on cosmic laws that directly affect man, thereby bridging the gap between mind and heart, East and West.
These are mostly photos from a photography collection by name of "Mandala Ceilings" In this collection l have photographed the best ceilings I have found, which transfer the meaning of the above concept. Like these domes our mission should be to broaden the awareness of such eternal principles of beauty, to connect people, and to increase the energy of humankind in general.

Sunday March 15, 2020