PAIRI DAEZA

Public Library (Group Exhibition / Symposium)

AMERICAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY (GER) 2016

The word paradise comes from the ancient Persian word Pairi Daēza, meaning a wall enclosing a garden. Pairi Daēza does not describe the shape of a paradise garden itself but an architectural structure, such as a fence or wall separating an invincible place from its environment. Historical records of paradise describe geologically isolated places like an island in the sea, a valley in the mountains, an oasis in the desert or the description of a wall of fire that encloses a place and makes access impossible. In various cultures, the shape of paradise has been described by writers and philosophers in books, visualized by artists in pictures or passed on orally to the next generations. Paradise is and remains a fictional and utopian place of longing.

This project was realizes in cooperation with Jens Lienig Bookbinding, Berlin.
With the kind support of: Capital Cultural Fund, Embassy of the United States of America

Curators: Katharina Hohmann, Christiane ten Hoevel