Sharjah 24: Ali Murad, Projects Coordinator at Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) stated that the artist, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian in her work Khayyam Fountain draws inspiration from the polymath Omar Khayyam.

In statements to “Sharjah 24”, the Projects Coordinator at Sharjah Art Foundation added that Omar Khayyam is known for his work on cubic equations, his influence on the development of the Persian calendar as well as his poetry, widely translated into English as the Rubájyát.

Ali Murad continued by revealing that Farmanfarmaian interleaves multi-sided shapes—triangles, pentagons and hexagons—to form a tower that rotates precipitously above a hollow base, creating varied refractions of light at different times of the day. The form of the fountain evokes the metaphor of water as a constant fount of life.

Khayyam Fountain is on long-term loan to Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) and finds its initial home in Hamriyah Studios where Farmanfarmaian’s final retrospective was presented by the Foundation in 2013.