Marzieh Kaviani, MA

Artist Statement

In 2023 I started at The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, where I dedicated the past two years of the MA Programme to the exploration of traditional geometric pattern.

My dissertation project grew out of the question “Can I find growth and movement in geometric patterns?” I understand, from recent research, that this method of questioning was used by artisans in the past to create more complex patterns. I have chosen ten-fold patterns to examine, since this family is the most flexible among Islamic geometric patterns. While drawing the patterns, I observed a connection between the movement and interaction of the shapes with my past observations of cells under a microscope. I found similarities between pattern creation and the cell division process.

I decided to show the process of pattern growth in a series of pencil and ink drawings. I then chose parquetry as the medium in which to show some of the patterns and the ideas behind them.

This culminated in the construction of a parquetry panel featuring a Shahgereh[1], patterns for this piece are chosen from the Topkapi scroll.

I have also designed and made several smaller parquetries with gereh in gereh[2] patterns, most of the patterns are original.

[1] Shahgereh is a Persian term and means King of gereh or pattern. This group is also known as dual level patterns in which they can repeat within themselves (like a fractal) or two different patterns of the same family which can contain each other.

[2]  Gereh in gereh is also a Persian term for a wider group of patterns in which new and more complex ones can form by the conversion of patterns.

[3] National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents

[4] National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology