Dubai · 23/09/2026

Amir Khojasteh: May the Tree No Longer Burn When I Wake

The artist's first body of work developed after leaving Iran

In May the Tree No Longer Burn When I Wake, Amir Khojasteh presents his first body of work developed after leaving his home country, Iran. The Persian garden — a walled garden in a barren land — resonated with his experience of departure and distance; where his previous show Living in a Burning House spoke from the inside, he now speaks from afar, watching the fire settle into ash, which is conceptually present throughout the show as both destruction and the ground for new forms. Through paintings, sculptures and installation, Khojasteh turns the gallery into a twisted Persian garden with windows onto doomed landscapes inspired by Van Gogh's Wheatfield with Crows (1890), which resurfaced in his mind during the Woman Life Freedom movement. Limbless reclining figures and soft seated bodies with quiet, senseless smiles populate the space.