Date 0:0 is a participatory extended-reality project that reflects on the working and poetics of Mesopotamia farms. The date palm is one of the world's oldest and most sacred fruit trees, and its harvest has long had a major influence on the lives of the people of southern Iran and Iraq. The Asorik date tree has been described as the Tree of Life, and as a legacy, many efforts have been made to preserve it over the years. As two Iranian and Iraqi artists, they aim to create a participatory project to engage the public to revive this legendary crop, restore the destroyed date tree farms in their region after the war, and help farmers rebuild their burned fields in Iran and Iraq.
Intertwining the ancient Mesopotamian Asorik tree with interactive imaginary and mixed reality technology is a poetic act of preservation and restoration. This project is a multidimensional artwork that unifies both countries by planting virtually and physically one thousand date trees on each side of the Iran-Iraq border. In the gallery space, participants’ actions will implement changes in both virtual and physical environments at the same time. They would use the interactive map to explore tree loss over time.
As a symbolic act of engagement, gallery visitors are invited to contribute to the project by planting a digital date tree in a virtual environment while simultaneously placing a physical miniature tree on the gallery wall. In return, contributors will receive a reward as a token of appreciation for their participation. The goal is to facilitate the exchange between contributors, and people in the field and deliver the funds to local farmers on both sides.
This new media project is more than a charitable act: it is an act of engagement that allows people on the ground to see tangible results. The artists aspire to actively involve everyone in this transformative healing process. By encouraging broader participation in the project, they not only contribute to peacekeeping efforts across borders but also establish a sustainable environment for farmers and the populace of both countries. Planting trees in each of these regions brings a multitude of benefits, challenges, and rewards. The aim is to empower individuals to make a positive impact on the environment, to restore date tree farms after the war, create jobs, build communities, and protect habitat for biodiversity.
The project not only grants people access but also actively advocates for the democratization of lands, ensuring inclusivity and equity. It brings together students, educators, and artists through an extensive archival process that honors and preserves the memory of Iraqi and Iranian people. By utilizing technology and decentralized platforms, the project seeks to alleviate the isolation experienced by local communities. Its potential to spark meaningful discussions on urgent contemporary issues.
Date 0:0 as a cross-cultural project not only engages and inspires artists to have wider collaboration but also invites the universities and educational forums to advance and expand the scope of their study beyond the confinements of their particular surroundings, encompassing a universal perspective in understanding human behavior. Date 0:0 provides benefits that transcend the limits of traditional art project approaches.
Through this partnership with the University of Basrah in Iraq and Shahid Chamran University in Ahvaz, they will generate topographic studies of the areas along the border of both countries. Secondly, the schools help them to build connections between them as facilitators, other artists, and farmers to establish a network. This project is going to take a huge amount of resources. They aim to construct the project systems and technology based on the social-cultural resources provided by these two schools and afterward combine the outcomes in a joint exhibition together.
Our hope is to work closely together to unfold this vision where it could benefit the visitor, local communities with its educational value for all sides with having the space and time where we can exhibit the project in the region where it matters the most.