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Night in the Garden of Love

November 10, 2023–May 5, 2024

Temporary Exhibitions Gallery

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Enjoy virtually with a 3D tour.

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Gardens — whether real or imagined — can be spaces of creation and optimism in the face of the climate crisis.

 

Night in the Garden of Love  is a multisensory exhibition by British artist Shezad Dawood, inspired by African-American Muslim musician, composer, and polymath (Allāmah) Dr. Yusef Lateef (1920 – 2013). In this multilayered exhibition, the garden serves as the starting point for a creative futuristic and intercultural conversation in which art and music can help transform the individual and the environment. Dawood sparks a transformational mindset as audiences are guided through VR, textile works, music, scent, and imagined plants that respond to digital algorithms.

In Dialogue

Night in the Garden of Love  is a dynamic conversation between Dawood and Lateef’s artistic practices and philosophical approaches, inspiring visions of alternative futures through transformative creativity in a turbulent world. This call-and-response between these gifted practitioners is reminiscent of exchanges in musical improvisation. Environmentalism is positioned as a search for solutions that take place in the community and through creativity.

Entrance to the Night in the Garden of Love exhibition displaying a textile to the left and the title to the right
Gallery space with incense sticks of various fragrances on display

Step into an enthralling VR environment inspired by Lateef’s novella, listen to Lateef’s music and view his drawings, explore a stunning collection of textile paintings, and watch algorithmically generated plants flourish and sway harmoniously as they respond to a new Autophysiopsychic musical score performed by Lateef’s former collaborators and peers. Night in the Garden of Love  weaves elements of fiction, virtual reality, and real-life experiences, placing you at the heart of a creative conversation between Dawood and Lateef.

About the Artists

Special Projects Curator

The Aga Khan Museum acknowledges the support of