In between: the Existence of Firdaus

by Firi Rahman

Artist Firi Rahman’s first site-specific, garden installation in Lunuganga was a deeply reflective and personal process. Expanding upon his work whilst exploring his own feelings in the context of the garden space and its scale came back full circle to his name Firdaus: meaning ‘paradise’ in Arabic, derived from pairi daēza, meaning ‘garden’. Moved by Geoffrey Bawa's own practice of thoughtfully manipulating nature to create a garden amidst the wilderness, the pieces revolve around Rahman’s core interests and memories.

Rahman channels his life in urban Colombo to explore the boundaries of the modern human experience of nature and dwell in the grey areas. Drawing from the fragmented sceneries viewed through grilles and windows and the unobtrusive passivity that comes from the vastness and tranquillity of nature, Rahman takes an industrious outlook at co-existing with the natural world. Rahman’s installations disrupt the seamless flow between indoor and outdoor, deconstruct Geoffrey Bawa’s meticulously crafted vistas, and use architectural features to bring nature back into the forefront.

Perch

In between: the Existence of Firdaus