Black (The Landscape of Regret) is an interactive, site-specific installation that reframes Persian literary history and miniature painting into a contemporary sensory experience. Drawing from Nizami’s tale of the Black Dome and Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād’s iconic painting of the Khawarnaq Castles , the project explores the human pursuit of an unattainable, utopian garden of pleasure—a desire that remains perpetually out of reach due to the insatiable nature of human longing.
Utilizing industrial scaffolding to reconstruct the vertical architectural lines of Behzād’s painting, the installation creates a physical, liminal space. Visitors are invited to ascend a central staircase, navigating an altered landscape filled with inverted, suspended trees.
In collaboration with sound artist Mehdi Behboudi, the work
features an interactive soundscape. As the audience climbs higher, a mysterious, evolving audio track intensifies in response to their movement, amplifying their intrinsic desire to ascend. By merging classical iconography, industrial materials, and sonic technology, the project invites the audience to physically step inside the historic "method of seeing" inherent to Persian miniatures, reflecting on the eternal loop of human desire and regret.
