Green Summit

 The Green Summit

Description: Vertical installed wooden tracks nailed to artificial grass run down above a detailed painting of a pink tulip that hangs above a door covered by artificial grass and train tracks with mirrors; the track and Astroturf extend out on the floor, inviting the viewer to the door

 “The Green Summit” is an interactive multimedia installation.  This conceptual memorial, made of wood, mirror, and artificial grass, features a breadth of symbols that carry their own significance regarding historical, geopolitical, and identity-based contexts to explore themes of life and death. The work serves as a tribute to the 176 passengers on the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, who tragically died on January 9, 2020. Additionally, this installation piece is inspired by Aref Ghazvini’s poem “Az khoone javanane Vatan Laleh damideh.” The theme of this poem refers to a mythological hero from The Shahnameh, the Kayanid prince Siavash and an upside-down tulip in the Zagros Mountains. The poem explains that the tulip grows from the blood of Siavash (whose death, in the story, was also mourned by many Iranians). Even after a thousand years, this poem is still contemporary and has been used as a political reference in Iran. This piece represents the termination of spring for the people who died on Flight 752. The mirrors signify eternity, hope and light, and the entrance to somewhere unfamiliar.

The work utilizes a breadth of symbols that carry their
own significance regarding historical, geopolitical, and
identity-based contexts to explore themes of life and death.
Among the references that inspired this memorial are two
monumental works of Persian literature: The Shahnameh
(The Book of Kings), one of the longest epic poems ever
created, written by the poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and
1010 CE. The imagery in this poem later inspired From the
Blood of the Country’s Youth, a ballad composed and sung
by Aref Qazvini (1882-1934), one of the most important
poets of the Constitutional Revolution of Iran. The song,
With its political overtones, it was composed during the
period of the Second Parliament (1909-1911) in memory
of those who died in the revolution.

From the blood of the country’s youth,
Tulips have sprouted.
The cypress’s tall form is bent in sorrow
for cypress-tall youth.
In the shadow of the rose,
the nightingale writhes in sorrow.
The rose, like me, has torn her robe.
How crooked you are, o spheres!
How mischievous you are, o spheres!
You are intent on revenge, o spheres!
You have neither faith, nor ethics, nor spheres!
An excerpt of Qazvini’s
The song is provided