The Arab World Institute in Paris is hosting an exhibition entitled Jardins d'Orient, within its interior spaces and 2000 square metres of outdoor grounds, giving the public a chance to explore and experience the history, colours, fragrances and harmonies of Arab-Islamic, Mughal and Hispano-Moorish gardens.

In the Orient, the emergence of new civilisations gave rise to gardens. These gardens formed abundant oases in what was otherwise a dry and arid environment.  These gardens became inspiration for early poets and architects who went on to create many symbols of the Oriental civilisations, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Taj Mahal.

The exhibition, with the central theme of water, is the creation of a team of landscape architects, curators, researchers, historians, urban planners and librarians.

3D view of the Ephemeral garden landscape (architect: Michel Pena) and Anamorphosis (Francois Abelanet)

Due to the dryness of their surroundings, the Arabs and their predeccessors have always used economical ways of nurturing their gardens.  Between the C9th and C11th, humans had harnessed nature to control water's flow and preservation to help nurture and transform landscapes, using estimations and calculations.  This paved the way for water management systems such a dams, bridges and river diversion methods.  Soon the qanat system emerged - a method for collecting ground water via wells linked by subterranean tunnels.  This was the beginning of the 'Golden Age' of Arab-Muslim water supply systems.

The exhibition expands on all aspects of the art of gardening, stemming from this evolution of water management systems that helped make these gardens possible - cultural, aesthetic, graphic, scientific, technical, social, environmental and pedagogical.

It will explore the hydraulic techniques that transformed arid lands into garden oases, the geometry of the gardens designed to fully embrace the water and its position, the garden as a symbol of power, abundance and luxury, as a source of pleasure and representation of paradise, as well as a place to awaken and indulge the senses.

Artworks, scale models and historical documents are used to illustrate the evolution of the classical Arab-Muslim garden, and visitors can explore a recomposed image of a masterful anamorphosis of vegetation – the star-shaped polygon – created by visual artist François Abélanet.

Fountain Spout in the form of a peacock, Indian Sultanate, C11th-C13th

Scene in the Park, Marguerite Nahkla, around 1940

Radha & Krishna in a Boat, Rajasthan, around 1860

The exhibition also features a number of educational initiatives, such as planting workshops for young children and guided tours through the forecourt's ephemeral garden.  These are complemented by a selection of fiction and documentary films, being screened between May and September.  

The exhibition takes place from 19 April until 25 September 2016.  For more details on dates and times, visit The Arab World Institute.