Lot 315: Y. Z. KAMI

BLUE DOME I
signed and dated 2008 on the reverse

160 by 182.9cm.; 63 by 72in.

painted paper mounted on linen

Inspired by heaven and earth, body and soul, man and the divine, Blue Dome I is an outstanding masterpiece of Kami's oeuvre. The marriage of blue paper 'tiles' that so recall the architecture of the seventeenth century Shah's mosque in Isfahan, and the brown linen background, enable the work to be both striking and meditative. Even in its abstraction, these architectural collages of
Y. Z. Kami are arguably some of the most successful studies of Persian architecture.

The artist conveys the essence of the place, and the purpose of its design, without sacrificing anything in the translation from one medium to another. In Islamic pre-modern architecture there is a union of complex rational and intuitive thinking, incorporating various paradigms of the region's belief system. This includes a deep awareness of symbolism and the metaphysical, the meditative purpose of this collage shares the rationale behind a mosque's decoration. It is to elicit a profound response from the viewer, to provide a focus for meditation and the means to sincere reflection. It is this which Kami effortlessly distils here.