Exhibition: Epic Iran

Epic Iran explores 5,000 years of Iranian art, design and culture, bringing together over 300 objects from ancient, Islamic and contemporary Iran.

Iran was home to one of the great historic civilisations, yet its monumental artistic achievements remain unknown to many. Epic Iran explores this civilisation and the country’s journey into the 21stcentury, from the earliest known writing – signalling the beginning of history in Iran – through to the 1979 Revolution and beyond.

Ranging from sculpture, ceramics and carpets, to textiles, photography and film, works on display reflect the country’s vibrant historic culture, architectural splendours, the abundance of myth, poetry and tradition that have been centralto Iranian identity for millennia, and the evolving, self-renewing culture evident today.

From the Cyrus Cylinder and intricate illuminated manuscripts of the Shahnameh, to ten-metre-longpaintings of Isfahan tilework, Shirin Neshat’s powerful two-screen video installation Turbulent,and Shirin Aliabadi’s striking photograph of a young woman blowing bubblegum, the exhibition will offer a fresh perspective on a country that is so often seen through a different lens in the news.

Epic Iran features ten sections set within an immersive design that will transport visitors to a city, complete with a gatehouse, gardens, palace, and library. Designed by Gort Scott Architects, each section has a different atmosphere, reflecting the objects displayed as well as their time and place in history.