Tower of Babel is a continued tale of world conflict, of desires to understand and appreciate differences in human race and then the inability of the race to make it so. A rotating tale of hope and despair.
The people of world speak different languages as they are incapable of truly appreciating the “other”, it is completely possible that if we spoke the same language we probably would have had more wars on our hands. The myth itself is confused and contorted and does not tally with linguistic history of the world nor with realities of physics and mathematics.
Allahyar Najafi’s Tower of Babel illustrates the ugliness and confusion in our modern day cities in Iran and indeed those of the world. He brings down the very idea of the Iran as the land of “Gohar“ and roses and nightingales. Facing up to the realities of our life, artist depicts a near end of the world imagery that in its roughness is beautiful. This is not a gate of god, nor is it 7 levels of self-discovery and totally defies similar implications. It has its roots in plain and simple unruly and uninspiring urbanism. One that takes shape when intellect is pushed aside, and greed and poverty and despair triumphs.

This series of works is about re-finding ideals by looking at the reality on the ground. Even in choice of materials used: bits and pieces of artist’s photographs, found images and cello tape, this act of reshaping and redefining is evident. Artist is not a day dreamer. He is here to remind us of what is truly distasteful in our lives. To show that greed that has been destroying our habitat, -among other things- and lack of self-reflection is the driving force in our modern day life, especially in our land where junkyards look better than most of our urban scenery.
Allahyar Najafi is a poet confounded with urbanism and struggles to find meaning in a land of misperception and distrust. He creates a world that is terrifying in its depth but still very pleasing to look at.
It is by passing through despair that other things become possible and new dreams take shape. Having no expectation in itself is a position of strength; of possibility and of hope and a future that might as yet be conceivable.

Nazila Noebashari