Shezad Dawood: Night in the Garden of Love

Shezad Dawood is known for his exploration of non-Western traditions that inform and intersect with established canons, whether in the field of architecture or, as in this case, music. His playful, research-driven work encompasses many forms and media, breaking down the boundaries between the analogue and the digital. In the new suite of works made for this exhibition, Dawood explores the poetic potential of the garden. In doing so, he connects to a trans- historical and cross-cultural tradition, ranging from medieval Christian iconography to Sufi mysticism and beyond. Dawood’s garden takes us into the digital realm, exploring how – in these times of social fragmentation – technology can help us to imagine new forms of togetherness.

Dawood’s inspiration for this metaphysical approach to the garden is a novella titled Night in the Garden of Love (1988), written by African-American musician, composer and polymath Dr. Yusef Lateef (1920–2013). Lateef pioneered the integration of world instruments to expand the boundaries of jazz traditions. Over time, he developed a methodology called Autophysiopsychic music. “It is about heightened consciousness and aims to activate the physical, mental and spiritual senses simultaneously,” states Dawood. Aware of Lateef’s music since his own youth, Dawood became fascinated with Lateef’s ideas after seeing his drawings – a selection of which are included in this exhibition – and reading his novella. Dawood conceives this exhibition as a dialogue between his practice and Lateef’s, like the call-and- response exchanges in musical improvisation.

Lateef’s novella attests to the power of music in both its story and rhythmic written style. Dawood sees it as a forerunner to recent cli-fi: sci-fi exploring climate issues. “There are all sorts of portals within Lateef’s novella, which moves from a dystopian future Detroit, into radical ideas of ecology and recycling,” states Dawood. Investigating the garden as a site of optimism in the face of the climate crisis, Dawood proposes a poetics of environmentalism, exploring how art and music can awaken a new spiritual epiphany that can lead to change.

Filled with daylight, the first room of the exhibition is the day garden. It is inhabited by textiles that hang like celebratory banners or political flags through the space. In the centre of the 1st room, Dawood presents an architectural intervention evoking the geometric forms of an Islamic garden. Inside, you are invited to enter the Virtual Reality experience that Dawood has created for this exhibition, based on scenes and ideas from Lateef’s novella. The VR experience immerses you in Lateef’s garden of love, as reimagined by Dawood.

The second room is shrouded in darkness, evoking the night of the exhibition’s title. It features seven screens, each with the sound of an individual instrument. The installation is titled Digital Seedbanks, evoking the seed collections which exist to preserve a diversity of DNA for future generations. In the centre, a seven-sided bench invites you to relax in this night garden, as you watch the plants grow.

The panorama room is painted the same colours as Dawood’s architectural interventions on the floor below, its vivid chroma key green – or digi-green – used in VR programming. The two costumes on display are designed by London– based fashion label Ahluwalia, created by upcycling fabrics from Dawood’s textile archive.

Forming the heart of the exhibition, the 4th room presents drawings by Yusef Lateef selected by Dawood, together with Ayesha Lateef, Lateef’s widow, and Alhena Katsof, Curatorial Advisor for the Estate of Yusef Lateef. Exhibited for the first time outside the USA, these original works depict constellations of plant- and tree-like forms that hover between figuration and abstraction, often evoking musical notation.