'What I was trying to understand was, what does it actually mean to make light,' says Gabriel Hendifar, artistic director of Apparatus. The question led him to Act V: Afsaneh, the New York design studio’s first new collection in five years, and a meditation on creativity, knowledge and the cycles of life.
'I really needed a moment to understand what I was saying and why,' he says of the time between collections. Hendifar had created an impressive body of work over the past 14 years, and wanted to consider 'the kinds of things and the ways of making that feel relevant now.'
In previous Acts, he channeled the glamour of late-1970s New York, the 'sparkly creative expression' of the Wiener Werkstätte, a reimagining of his family’s Iranian history and a playful vision of the future. With Act V, 'I am trying to make sense of where we are collectively by looking back at the cycle of the seed and the flower, and what it can mean for us to hold ideas dear and to amplify them.'
Afsaneh, which is both his mother’s name and the Persian word for fable, unfolds in four series: Esfand, the seed, symbolizing the mother; Gol, the flower, the amplification of the seed; Rahvi, the serpent and collector of knowledge; and Jahaan, the cosmos, where the seed, flower and knowledge are shared. As for materials, Hendifar explains, 'We’re working with materials that say something about the future, and something about the past, and place the work in an atemporal place.'
The seed becomes the collection’s building block, appearing in sconces, vessels and an incense burner. 'They feel like their own little universe, like they hold the entirety of the cosmos,' Hendifar says. In Gol, cast-glass seeds are enveloped by large fiberglass shades that suggest (depending on one’s point of view) flower petals, jellyfish or octopuses. 'This is the seed wrapped in beauty as a way to both protect it and attract the people who are meant to seek it,' he adds.
The amulets in Rahvi are crafted from seven semi-precious stones, including tiger’s eye, lapis lazuli and red jasper. Like the flower, they embody both amplification and protection. 'This is almost like a spiritual starter kit for leaning into the light,' he jokes. The final series, Jahaan, centers on the table. 'It’s where we gather to share knowledge. It’s where we gather to share food. The table is the idea of community.'
As with previous Acts, Afsaneh incorporates scent and performance. The fragrance, with notes of damask rose and oud, evokes what Hendifar calls 'moonlight in a desert rose garden.' This year he debuted five short films, made in collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Hendifar, who grew up as a musician and self-described theatre kid, sees film as another block in building each Act. 'It allows me to say a lot of things in a way that isn’t always so direct…it can feel like a collage.'
When scheming a new collection, he asks, 'What are we telling people in movement, sound and music? And what is the moment when we are gathering in a room together? What does it feel like to be at the party?'
For Hendifar, it’s about creating a world people want to enter, and leaving them with something that lingers long after they leave.
