Shezad Dawood: Night in the Garden of Love is a multisensory exhibition that not only awakes all of our senses in unexpected ways but also evokes critical questions about our experiences with climate change and how we represent it through music, literature, and art. Contemporary artist Shezad Dawood was inspired by a cli-fi novella, (also known as climate fiction or ecological sci-fi) “Night in the Garden of Love” (1988) written by Dr. Yusef Lateef (1920-2013), an African-American Muslim musician, award-winning composer, author, and philosopher. Lateef introduced new sounds that came from many regions around the globe. Lateef was a pioneer who played ‘world music’ before it even had a name, and blended ‘jazz’ into his music as well.
Lateef’s novella, “Night in the Garden of Love” is a story that is set on Earth in the future. It is a wonderous mixture of lyrical imagery, involving a variety of forms to further empower it. Both Lateef and Dawood find a common interest in the symbolism of the garden in Islamic cultures and cultures in general, presenting the garden as a space for reflection and where we can find a better understanding of our purpose and place on earth.
The entrance to the exhibition. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
Entering the exhibition, you’ll find yourself walking through a map of vintage textile hangings by Shezad Dawood alongside drawings by Yusef Lateef, works that Dawood found himself fascinated with, along with Yusef’s decades of musical impact. Dawood describes the combination of these painted textiles and other art forms in the exhibition as call-and-response to Lateef’s music, novella, and drawings.
Installation view with Shezad Dawood textiles and Priya Ahluwalia’s designs of Mutant Dancers. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
As you enter the ‘call and response’ area, you will notice the metaphor of the garden beginning to emerge. You are surrounded not only by the combination of Dawood’s work and Lateef’s remarkable drawings based on his musical scores but also by other media talents like fashion designers, immersive film and VR technicians, along with many more exciting performances and pieces provided by the Aga Khan Museum. The character is known as the Mutant from Lateef’s novella. You can also see the Dancing Mutant (performed by Wan-Lun Yu in a 12-minute VR (virtual realty) experience, produced by UBIK Productions and co-commissioned by WIELS in Brussels and the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto. The themes and characters from Lateef’s novella fill every corner of the space.
Shezad Dawood, Night in the Garden of Love, (VR) 2023, duration variable. Courtesy of the artist. Produced by UBIK Productions. Co-commissioned by WIELS, Brussels and Aga Khan Museum, Toronto.
Dawood has opened a garden full of creative, futuristic, and intercultural conversations, and an invitation to contemplate global issues in a healing way. This exhibition celebrates Lateef’s legacy. The dynamic, how Dawood describes “symphony,” is a new way of thinking about music and art. Lateef’s storytelling abilities demonstrate the process in a fictional setting. His drawings are mostly “untitled” because it is never about the visual outcome but rather about the artist’s journey and daily practice of planting. His work is creative and multi-sensory and meant to lead to a progressive change in our relationship to nature.
Yusef Lateef, Untitled (Night in the Sea of Love) N.D. watercolour, acrylic, metallics. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
One of Lateef’s drawings, “Untitled (Night in the Sea of Love)”, is located right before you enter the greater hall showing his work. All of his artwork depicts his interest in organic forms. Later in the exhibition, you will see these forms in seven algorithmically generated plants responding to a new musical score inspired by Lateef. The 16 exhibited drawings by Lateef’s are mixed-media explorations of his music, his spirituality and the physical world around him. The focus of these works is the free form; he uses the same method in his drawings as in his written work. For him the process of the creation of the work is more important than the result. He intends to show how quickly everything changes and transforms, depending on what we do to nature with our hands and how we use resources that are available.
Yusef Lateef, Untitled (Night in the Garden of Love), acrylic, chalk and watercolor on paper. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
Dawood painted the Mutant Dancer and then collaborated with Priya Ahluwalia, a UK-based designer, on the costume sculptures, including Mutant Dancer 1 and 2. They are made from Dawood’s textile archive of repurposed vintage fabrics collected from the 70’s. Here the colours, patterns and textiles combine to create a contemporary dance, embracing the idea of harmonious partnership of revival and survival in a constantly changing world.
Shezad Dawood, Mutant Dancer, 2023, acrylic on vintage textile hanging. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
Installation view with Shezad Dawood textiles and Priya Ahluwalia’s designs of Mutant Dancers. Courtesy of the Aga Khan Museum 2023 Photography © Aly Manji
While continuing to draw themes from Lateef’s novella, Dawood’s also fills the museum’s space with an irresistible scent of AI-generated perfumes, interactive sound installation and a breathtaking VR experience that tells the story of “Night in the Garden of Love” by incorporating enchanting new mediums and endless artistic possibilities.
Polyna Alexseev
*Exhibition information: Shezad Dawood: Night in the Garden of Love, November 10, 2023 – May 5, 2024, Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive, Toronto. Museum hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am – 5:30 pm (Wednesday until 8 pm).