ZARVAN
Time as witness
ZARVAN is a 25 foot interactive sculpture at urban scale that combines art, engineering, and human experience within a single structure. The work is designed as a living system: its illuminated crown responds to human presence and crowd density, its ears enable direct communication between individuals through acoustic speaking tubes, and periscopes embedded in the eyes allow visitors to experience the world from the perspective of this standing figure in the desert.
The form of ZARVAN draws from Persian carpet motifs and stained glass architectural inspiration within the crown, creating a synthesis of cultural heritage and contemporary geometric expression that embodies the concept of time in physical form. The structure is built with a modular steel skeleton and an off grid solar energy system, allowing it to operate independently in open public space and harsh environmental conditions.
ZARVAN is not merely a sculpture; it is a platform for experience.
The audience is not only a viewer but an active component of the work’s function. Light shifts in response to human presence, voices travel between strangers, and perspective is transformed. In doing so, ZARVAN activates a moment of pause, connection, and reconsideration of perception in public space, reminding us of time not as measured hours, but as lived experience.
ZARVAN is not an object. It is a vantage point.
✳︎
ZARVAN is not an object. It is a vantage point. ✳︎
ZARVAN stands upon a body covered with Persian carpet motifs; patterns that are not merely decorative, but carry a conceptual and cultural structure within the form itself. In Persian tradition, a carpet is not simply a functional object; it is a map. A map of order, symmetry, centrality, and cosmos. Many classical carpets are structured like gardens and geometric systems that recreate the world in a comprehensible and balanced form. Center, border, repetition, and equilibrium all express an order that emerges from complexity.
ZARVAN stands upon a body articulated with Persian carpet motifs. In Persian culture, a carpet is not merely decorative but a symbolic map of order, symmetry, and cosmos. These patterns carry cultural meaning and reflect systems of balance, repetition, and structure that have evolved over centuries.
The motifs on ZARVAN are digitally designed and projected onto the faceted steel surface using projection mapping. This technique allows the patterns to be hand drawn with high precision while accurately following the geometry of the steel panels. The process combines digital alignment with manual craftsmanship, ensuring that the motifs remain faithful to the original design while integrating seamlessly with the structural form.
The result is a dialogue between traditional cultural ornament and contemporary industrial fabrication. Persian rug geometry becomes embedded within a faceted steel body, while the stained glass crown opens upward toward light.
Through this synthesis, ZARVAN carries cultural memory while existing as a contemporary engineered structure, transforming pattern into both surface and meaning.
See Through the Eyes
Rear viewing windows connect to internal periscopes precisely aligned with the eyes. Participants experience the surrounding environment from ZARVAN’s perspective, creating a literal shift in viewpoint and awareness.
ZARVAN’s periscopes activate a displacement of perception. By positioning themselves within the eyes of this 25 foot structure, viewers observe the world from a nonhuman scale and momentarily step outside their ordinary physical and psychological position. This shift in perspective creates not only visual curiosity but also a reversal of roles, as the spectator becomes the eye of the work. In this process, the individual is simultaneously observer and participant within the scene being viewed.
The periscope, as a simple optical instrument, becomes a catalyst for dialogue, pause, and social interaction. People gather around it, questions are asked, and the act of seeing transforms into a shared experience. Through this element, ZARVAN evolves from a static object into a participatory system that redefines perception, presence, and human connection in public space.
Speak Through the Ears
Integrated acoustic speaking tubes allow direct communication between individuals standing on opposite sides of the sculpture. The system is analog, durable, and requires no electronics, encouraging spontaneous human connection.
ZARVAN’s ears function as acoustic speaking tubes, creating a direct and intimate channel of communication between individuals standing on opposite sides of the sculpture. Embedded within the ear structures, the tubes operate through a simple mechanical principle, transmitting voice naturally without amplification or electronic mediation.
When one person speaks into the tube, their voice travels physically through the body of the sculpture and emerges at the opposite ear. This creates an unexpected private exchange within a public environment. Strangers become participants in a shared moment.
The speaking tubes transform ZARVAN from a purely visual experience into a relational system. The work does not only look back at the world through its eyes; it also listens and carries human voices across its structure. In doing so, it activates curiosity, play, and conversation, encouraging human connection through a tactile and analog mechanism embedded within a monumental form.
the crown
Collective Light Response
The illuminated crown responds dynamically to human presence and gathering. As participants approach the sculpture, proximity sensors detect movement and gradually increase the intensity of the crown’s light. Sensor data is processed by a custom microcontroller that modulates LED brightness, fade behavior, and lighting patterns in real time.
The crown of ZARVAN is activated by human presence. As individuals approach the sculpture, the illumination gradually intensifies, creating a direct relationship between proximity and light. When a group gathers around the piece, the crown responds collectively, shifting into a more dynamic state that reflects shared presence.
Integrated proximity sensors continuously detect human presence and crowd density around the sculpture. Real time sensor data is processed by the microcontroller, which modulates LED intensity, fade curves, and activation sequences through custom embedded logic. The system allows programmable thresholds, dynamic scaling, and collective response behavior.
When a crowd gathers fully around the sculpture, the crown transitions into a programmed lighting animation sequence. This activation is triggered by collective presence and is designed to acknowledge and celebrate the surrounding human assembly through controlled dynamic illumination.
All wiring, connectors, and control systems are weather sealed and contained within a protected internal compartment inside the structural steel core. Industrial grade cable glands and sealed junction boxes are used to ensure long term outdoor reliability.
Power is supplied through a dedicated off grid solar array with deep cycle battery storage, enabling fully autonomous operation without external infrastructure. The system is engineered for low maintenance, modular service access, and long term durability in extreme environments.
ZARVAN’s crown therefore functions as a resilient, self contained interactive lighting system that converts human proximity into architectural illumination through programmable embedded control.