Tulips from Istanbul

´It is not a tale invented but a confirmation of what went on before it...´

"Es ist keine erfundene Geschichte, sondern eine Bestätigung dessen, was vorher schon war..."
             Yusuf 111, The Qur'án.

The Dutch House of Orange has reigned since 1572. The tulip from Turkey gained popularity in West Europe in the early 1600s.

Die aus der Türkei stammende Tulpe gewinnt ihre grosse Beliebtheit in Westeuropa am Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts. Das Haus Oraien regiert seit dem Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts.








The aesthetic experience is a combination of touching or playing or looking up and a few historical facts. We see each tulip from the bottom up, sometimes they are out of reach.
The historical facts: The tulip was imported into the Netherlands and Germany from Turkey around the year 1600, at roughly the same time as the House of Orange became the Royal House of the newly formed nation of The Netherlands.

The quotation from the Qur'án, "It is not a tale invented, but a confirmation of what went before it..." comes from a chapter of the Qur'án which refers to progressive revelation. This is a concept that all religious leaders or prophets come from the same source and are part of the same eternal religion. Here I connect this Moslem and Bahá'í view of religion to that cultural symbol.

The tulip was never a found object, it came from somewhere,
and in this instance,
that somewhere was a Moslem society.

Shown:
2005   Far Near Neighbours, Saravego Winter Festival, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
2004   Oceania,Terpkerk, Urmond, The Netherlands.
2001   Dans le jardin des beaux arts exhibition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
2000   Keep Off the Grass a show that toured over a period of 6 months in New Zealand: Te Wa, Wanganui; Pataka Museum, Porirua; Palmerston North.
2000   In the Korero, Korero exhibition,
Wanganui, New Zealand.
1998   Zien is Geloven Vishal,
Haarlem, The Netherlands.
1997   Crossing Borders, Studio Orange,
Villach, Austria.
1997   Alumni, old Bonnenfanten Museum space, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

The two images above on the right were installed during
the Crossing Borders Festival, Studio Orange, Villach, Austria, 1997.