Brighton Museum publication - Behind the scenes at Brighton Museum with Neda Kahooker
Zoroastrian Marriage Apron, World Stories: Young Voices Gallery
17ThursdayApr 2014
My Name is Neda, and I came to the UK from Iran in 2010. I am researching some of the historic objects in Brighton Museum & Art Gallery which have not been on display before.
One of these objects is, according to the auction house it was purchased from, a Zoroastrian marriage apron.
It is a large flat textile, formed of a red silk background square with two side panels which have been sewn onto it. The red square is embroidered with different symbols such as sun-faces, couples beneath trees, animals (cat, fish, bird, etc), flowers and cypress tree leaves. The cloth consists of five panels; the two side panels have a green background with a floral pattern. I have not seen anything like this before in Iran, but my research revealed that dresses were sometimes re-cut and fine embroideries were reused after their initial use. Rebecca Bridgman, Curator for Islamic and South Asian Arts for Birmingham Museums viewed the textile later and said that she thought the silk brocade green panels may date from the seventeenth or the eighteenth centuries, and the red panels attached later on.
According to Mr Jabbar Farshbaf, a painter and specialist in Persian rug design, this needle work is called Zoroastrian stitching (zartoshti doozi). The Zoroasters believed that decorated cloths protect them from surrounding evils, and the more decoration on the cloths the more protective they will be.
The symbols reflect enduring concepts in Persian culture and originally may have been understood to tell stories. For example the sun with the lion face may symbolise masculinity. Cats, on the other hand, are associated with femininity, and their tail in a circular ring shape gives them spirituality. All plants, especially the cypress trees, symbolise strength and fertility.
Zoroastrian stitching is a style that is still being practiced in some areas of Iran especially in Yazd and Kerman where most of the Zoroastrian population exist. During my research I found out about a workshop held among textile students at Tehran Art University in 2010. The workshop aimed to teach traditional embroidery techniques. According to the educator, Shirin Mazdapoor, who graduated in Designing Fabric from Yazd University, Zoroastrian embroidery has been used for centuries. At the birth of every girl relatives would begin to make her wedding clothes. Thus this art can be evidenced in a bride’s dowries and in celebration costumes. Silk thread is usually used with bright colours such as red, green and white. Zoroastrians do not approve of dark colours such as black. The symbols used refer to nature and include plants, flowers and cypress trees, or animals such as fish, peacocks or cats. A design is first drawn on the cloth, and then the embroiderer follows the designs in thread.
What is Zoroastrianism?
Zoroastrianism is an ancient Persian religion. In Zoroastrianism, ab (water) and atash (fire) are agents of ritual purity. According to Zoroastrianism water and fire are respectively the second and last elements to have been created. Religious scripture describes fire as having its origin in the waters. Both water and fire are considered life-sustaining, and are represented within fire temples. Zoroastrians usually pray in the presence of some form of fire or source of light. Fire is considered a medium through which spiritual insight and wisdom is gained. Fire is regarded as a great purifier and a means of communicating with Ahura Mazda (God); the fire itself is not an object of worship. Water is considered the source of that wisdom. Zoroastrians have enormous respect for the environment and the elements: earth, wind, fire and water.
Neda Kahooker, Researcher, Iranian collections
Iranian Identity in Art, World Stories: Young Voices Gallery
08TuesdayApr 2014
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My name is Neda. I am from Iran and moved to the UK in 2010. I am a freelance researcher and was involved, along with eight other young Iranians, with the Iranian Identity in Art display, as part of the World Stories Young Voices gallery at Brighton Museum. We worked with curators at the museum to select contemporary artwork and objects for display and to create gallery interpretation. The theme of the display is how the art of writing or calligraphy has and continues to be an important part of Iranian art production. I was excited to be working on this gallery as it will raise the profile of Iranian contemporary art in the UK, and challenge preconceptions about the Middle East.
During the World Stories Young Voices project we studied the historic Iranian objects in the collection and discussed the contemporary artworks. We related to the objects in a personal way rather than focusing on their historical or technical aspects.
The calligraphy box particularly stood out for me due to its beautiful poetry and miniature painting. I translated the poem and recorded a reciting in both Persian and English. The poem can be listened to with a mobile device via the QR code available at the museum.
What I really like about the gallery is the mixture of historic and contemporary objects on display. Middle Eastern audiences appreciate contemporary art by drawing from the cultural context and background that has influenced that art. Displaying traditional art alongside the contemporary art can help to contextualise it for a non Middle Eastern audience.
Iran: An artistic renewal
Around 65% of the population of Iran are under 30 years old. There are plenty of young talented Iranian artists who are well-known to a small artistic circle within Iran, and unknown to the rest of the world. As an Iranian I feel it is important to support these artists through museum displays and through collecting contemporary art.
Due to restriction and censorship of art in Iran, artists must be imaginative and nuanced in the messages that they convey. They have also inherited a rich artistic history which has been influenced by pre Islamic period (Persian art and culture) as well as Islamic art.
Young Iranians discuss digital print Dream Indicator Series by Nader Davoodi (copyright Arshia Hatami )
As Iranians, we decided to display an artwork which could not be displayed in Iran as it shows a young woman without a headscarf which is forbidden in Iran. Nader Davoodi’s work titled Dream Indicator is a strong representation of a young woman. She emerges through an upside down script of an old Persian love story which suggests the interplay between contemporary life and traditional practices.
Dream Indicator Series by Nader Davoodi. Digital print on photographic paper, 2011
During the project I ran workshops to teach Iranian calligraphy at a families event at Brighton Museum. In the workshop I helped children create their own designs. They were inspired by the traditional and contemporary Iranian calligraphy. Finally, we made the designs into badges.
Neda Kahooker, Researcher, Iranian collections
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