abwab exhibition

living up to its name (abwab translates as ‘doors’) the show will provide visitors with a unique insight into techniques, materials and craft from a series of studios across from over ten countries.

abwab showcases siba sahabi‘s project ‘perspectives‘, a series of five performative light sculptures.

european and middle-eastern art history often appear to have developed separately, based on different beliefs and artistic expressions. we tend to forget about the strong mutual influences and shared history of these two regions. italian painters, for example, developed the revolutionary linear perspective during the renaissance based on, among others, the knowledge of the persian scientist and philosopher alhazen, who had made significant contributions to the principles of optics. on the other hand, iconic arabic patterns descended from simpler designs used in earlier cultures such as greek, roman, and sassanian.

as an extension and illumination of this shared history, siba sahabi’s series ‘perspectives‘ combines the ‘european’ linear perspective with abstract middle-eastern patterns, know as ‘arabesques’. for this series, siba sahabi visualized the linear perspective in three dimensions and added the element of cast shadows to express contemporary geometric middle-eastern patterns. the architectural design remains static while the hidden light-units cast a dynamic web of shadows. the morphing light animation—created using programmable leds—is developed in collaboration with digiluce. the five sculptures are made out of brass, copper, stainless steel and birch, and are finished with black india ink. through the geometric design, the visual aspects of mathematics in both the linear perspective and the arabesques are translated into contemporary centerpieces.

the project is realized with the kind support of the creative industries fund nl.