Abolfazl Harouni seeks to bring the past into the present by referencing Persian art history in his paintings and sculptures. Harouni’s design of a red wooden screen, Fāsel 2022, is taken from an illustration in the Shāhnāma (The Book of Kings) by Abu’l Qasim Firdausi (c.940/41–1020) – commissioned by the ruler Shah Tahmasp (1524–76) – where a red screen separates the natural and architectural spaces. The screen’s permeability is a reminder that one element does not exist without the other.

In Harouni’s carpet, Imperfect Perfection 2020, rows of green cypress trees within a paradaida (paradise, or walled garden) are interrupted by a red and an orange tree. The artist notes that these aberrations in colour are a nod to the ancient Persian belief that aiming for perfection in the material world is a meaningless task.

The two paintings Silver Howz 2024 and Archive 2024 refer to the sacred elements of water and fire. A howz is the fountain located at the centre of Persian courtyards; in mosques, it is the place where ablutions are undertaken, with water playing a purifying role. The candle flames in Archive are symbols for enlightenment in Zoroastrian belief (the Persian pre-Islamic religion). Harouni experiments with these symbols of purity and enlightenment through different forms of art: abstraction and representation.