Sajad Hosseinpour
Blue Fatima
A First Encounter: Entering an Unseen Narrative
Stepping into a dimly lit hall, where only faint beams of light thread through suspended lines in the air, one immediately feels transported to another realm of time. This isn’t merely a gallery — it resembles a temple of symbols. A sanctum where history is not framed in linear chronology, but hidden within layers of light and shadow, nestled in walls and unveiled beneath blacklight.
I pause for a second. My eyes have yet to adjust to the darkness. In the distance, whispers linger — ghostly murmurs beneath the surface. Symbols glow under invisible light, conjuring a strange sensation of return, as though a journey through collective memory has begun. From primeval caves to the intricacies of the data age, this is not the conventional gallery experience. Here, the visitor is not just a spectator, but a wanderer invited to lose themselves in symbols — to rediscover history not through text, but through the body, through sensation.
The “Timeline” exhibition was designed as a three-tiered panoramic narrative, offering a horizontal journey through history via three layers: the heavens above, humanity in the middle, and the earth and its tools below.
At the upper level, celestial maps, calendar symbols, and cryptic mathematical codes alluded metaphorically to time and the cosmological vision of ancient Iranians.
The central tier revolved around the human hand, from early cave imprints to the emergence of individual and social signs. This layer was arguably the exhibition’s strongest element. It powerfully portrayed the link between personal expression, form, and the historical evolution of social identity.
The third tier focused on pivotal moments in the history of graphic design — from Gutenberg’s printing press and Senefelder’s lithography to its localization by Iranian pioneers such as Mirza Reza Kalhor, and later, the foundation of modern graphic education under Morteza Momayez.
Together, these layers created a multilayered, symbolic experience — though, for some unfamiliar viewers, its visual lexicon may have required further guidance. Yet this initial immersion served as a prologue to the deeper narrative of “Timeline”: a project that strives to disentangle graphic design from its decorative role and reposition it as a language that narrates history and identity.
From Myth to Data: A Multilayered Spatial Narrative
The panoramic and multilayered design of the exhibition thoughtfully executed the idea of horizontal storytelling, from sky to earth, from myth to data. This spatial concept recalls Michel de Certeau’s theories in The Practice of Everyday Life, where meaning is formed through human interaction with space and signs. “Timeline” embodied this notion with its darkened space, focused lighting, and floating threads. At every step, the visitor encountered a symbol pointing to a specific historical moment: sometimes an ancient motif, sometimes a typographic form, sometimes a depiction of contemporary technology.
A similar spatial memory narrative was achieved in the 2018 Future of Memory exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wien, where historical memory unfolded in a shadowy, layered environment.
In “Timeline,” while this mysterious atmosphere was successfully invoked, certain sections leaned too heavily into abstraction, and the lack of textual aids occasionally left visitors disoriented when faced with deeper conceptual layers.
Aesthetic Immersion: From Cave Walls to Blacklight
Aesthetically, the use of blacklight and ultraviolet illumination in a darkened space evoked a primal, mythical sensation — reminiscent of ancient cave paintings and humanity’s earliest encounters with imagery. This sensory choice resonates with Joseph Campbell’s theories on collective mythology and the symbolic return to origins.
A kindred example is The Enchanted Forest (2019) at CCCB Barcelona, where light and symbols conjured a realm between history and imagination.
In “Timeline,” this visual language similarly succeeded in generating an enigmatic and non-linear experience.
Graphic Design as Cultural Text
“Timeline” was a bold attempt to reread graphic design as a cultural-historical text. The curator skillfully mapped the evolution of signs and design through a conceptual timeline, suspending both macro and micro-histories in a web of light and space.
Roland Barthes’ theory in Mythologies is particularly relevant here: every image and sign does not merely signify, but bears the weight of concealed ideologies. The designers of “Timeline” applied this perspective, treating signs not just as decorative forms, but as narrators of history, encompassing ancient mythologies as well as virtual identities.
A similar curatorial vision can be found in the Graphic Design Timeline exhibition at Cooper Hewitt Museum (2016), which reinterpreted the history of graphic design not as a linear technological progress, but as a mirror reflecting socio-political transformations.
Between Representation and Identity
Perhaps the most significant conceptual achievement of “Timeline” was its endeavor to establish graphic design as a cultural act — a language capable of narrating history. This aligns closely with Peter Berger’s ideas on art as the representation of social identity.
In this exhibition, the overarching history of graphic design and the evolution of symbols were clearly presented. Yet, the narrative primarily followed official and linear history, with marginal or underground movements largely absent. Social graphics from certain decades, or alternative design currents, could have added valuable diversity. Although the exhibition gestured toward contemporary concerns — such as artificial intelligence and its subtle presence in modern life — it remained somewhat reserved in addressing active, emerging movements of the present day.
Final Reflection: Toward a New Language of Graphic History
Under the theme of Common Ground, Tehran Design Week offered a platform to reimagine the role of graphic design in contemporary life. Among its most distinguished and inventive events was the “Timeline” exhibition, organized by the Events Committee of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society at the Iranian Artists Forum.
Beyond its visual storytelling, “Timeline” sought to re-read history, life, and human thought through the lens of graphic art — not merely as a visual tool, but as a language with the power to structure meaning and lived experience.
“Timeline” was a multilayered, sensory, and conceptual journey — a project that excelled in aesthetic spatial design and in evoking a sense of mystery. It elevated graphic design as a narrative force of history. Within the framework of Common Ground, it stood as a commendable attempt to craft a contemporary expressive language — one that redefines graphic design not in the realm of form or ornamentation, but in the deeper dimensions of meaning, identity, and cultural memory.
Undoubtedly, “Timeline” marks a turning point in the exhibition and narration of graphic design history in Iran — a valuable model that can inspire future narratives and innovative experiences in this field.