Farideh Lashai: ‘The Tyranny of Autumn’ Silkscreen Portfolio

Leila Heller Gallery invites to an exclusive presentation of Farideh Lashai‘s The Tyranny of Autumn, Not Every Tree Can Bear Suite I, a portfolio of 22 hand-painted Silkscreen prints and one original work from Farideh Lashai’s seminal installation of the same name.

The installation Tyranny of Autumn was commissioned and produced for the Gardens of Iran: Ancient Wisdom, New Visionsexhibition in 2004 at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Sharjah Art Foundation has reconstructed the installation for the first time as part of the Farideh Lashai retrospective. The installation is composed of four cylinder-shaped fences suspended from the ceiling. In these sheer columns small sheets of thin film hang. On each piece of film the image of a cypress tree is printed as well as poems from Hafiz about the celebrated cypress tree. Gestures of blue, green, red and yellow illuminate the Plexiglas cards hanging inside the cylinders. The symbol of the cypress tree that survives the winter and remains green references a part of the Iranianidentity and culture that has thrived amidst periods of foreign occupations and social unrest. The retrospective was curated by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi and is currently on view until 14 May, 2016.

The hand painted Silkscreen portfolio is produced by The Farideh Lashai Foundation and based on original drawings and materials by Farideh Lashai for the installation.