‘There is a Garden’ (a mistranslation from a Farsi-speaking friend who first read to me Rumi’s There is a Field) is a rumination on geopolitical turmoil and my local experience of freedom and peace. There is intergenerational wisdom to be found in Rumi’s writing—a message that carries beyond generations, war, continents, centuries, languages, and religions. Rumi asks us to connect beyond our ideas of right and wrong, to find love, understanding, and our inner gardens.

While in Iran, I came to appreciate the confluence of mathematics and traditional art with biophilic form. There is something innately natural about mathematical patternation, repetition, and natural materials. The iridescence of cedar complements the waves of this piece, introducing an optical illusion that shifts as it is viewed from around the room.