The Other Kabul

Kabul was once famous as a city of blossoming gardens. What once was, can one day become again, wrote the political scientist Ekkehart Krippendorff. In line with this motto, some twenty artists from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkey, the United States and Switzerland reflect on a different Kabul, without ignoring the past and present crises. Whether with a reference to the locality or starting out from intuition and imagination the volume assembles newly created artworks which reflect on the Afghan garden as a microcosm of the entire world. It contains the life of humans with animals and plants in all its wonder and beauty. Contributions on the gardens of Kabul, the garden as a symbol of generosity and friendship and the history of a private garden near Teheran amplify the forward-looking vision.