Maryam Bayat stood in front of a sculpture of a cypress tree, constructed from an old Persian rug.
"We have this tree in all different parts of Iran — in the north, in Shiraz, everywhere. And it's about strength. It's a symbol that is used in our stories and in our rugs and in Persian poems, everything — also in the monuments and architecture," Bayat said. "You could see these trees everywhere. So it's a symbol of Persian life."
Bayat spent her childhood summers in northern Iran.
"It's a place beside the sea, full of trees and breezes and wild animals," she said.
The rest of the year she spent exploring her father's rug shop in Tehran.
"My childhood was running through these stacks of rugs. And the light coming through and the smell — you know I think you're sensing the smell here," she mused.
In the California Center for the Arts, Escondido gallery space, Bayat's whimsical sculptures made from repurposed wool rugs fill the room — and scent the air with an earthy, lanolin-tinged fragrance.
Tapping into her family's long history in the Persian rug business, Bayat now uses old rugs as her canvas.
Bayat begins her creative process with an old Persian rug. She lightens the original colors, re-dyes the wool and paints her own bold patterns, layering them over the faded remnants of the rug’s original design. For the works in "Unrolling Paradise," those rugs become either flat wall hangings or sculptural elements in her forest installation.
Towering trees with bold pink blossoms. Colorful flowers. A clearing for a tea party. Whimsical horses, birds and a fox. A fountain modeled after one in Tehran.
Bayat said the installation was inspired by the fertile forests and woodlands of her youth, as well as the diversity of landscapes across Iran.
"It's about the culture, the buildings, the architecture, the narrow roads in the streets and the smell of the blossoms,” she said. “Even in Tehran — with the busy noise and everything."
Inside the gallery, Bayat's forest merges with a kind of living room. Chandeliers fashioned from wool yarn hang from the ceiling among her trees and creatures, and upholstered tables hold lamps — elements meant to evoke home, memories, nostalgia, nature and comfort.
"It's about a woman who is gathering with her friends — at that table over there. They're having a tea party, drinking tea, coffee, and they're talking about their memories — good, sad and everything together," she said.
Bayat also hopes to honor a time in her life when childhood curiosity and the natural world guided her days.
"I used to go in between all the trees and make houses for myself in the woods — I would love for my kids to be able to do that. I would go collect the egg from the hen. I was always connected to nature, like I'd just sit under an orange tree and then take an orange, smell it — all of your senses …" she mused. "I think I'm a child myself."
Bayat said she hopes the exhibition offers people a different view of Iran — especially for Americans whose glimpses of the country often come through news reports about war and oppression.
"For me it's full of colors. It has lots of nature, different kinds of nature. We have the desert, we have the sea," she said. "With different cultures, we have the southern part and the northern part, the food, everything. It's a feeling. It's very different, and I would love for people to see it and to sense it. I hope with this exhibition I could somehow show that feeling, or I could make you connect to it."
By refashioning each piece from an old rug, Bayat draws on the stories of the artisans who came before her.
Persian rugmaking, she said, was traditionally a craft practiced by women, and every rug was infused with a story.
"They used to sit down and weave, thinking of their life, their story and what is actually happening in their life. It was just a healing part for them, usually," she said. "Some of them would use it on their floors or they would also use it to sell it. But the main thing was that all of the rugs had a story behind it."
Bayat said that if a weaver was sad, it could affect her hands — and that sadness might find its way into the rug.
Persian rugs are also traditionally packed with motifs and symbols representing fertility, paradise, good fortune or even a region of Iran.
"When you have a rug inside your house, for most Iranians or Persians it's as if it's real, it's living,” Bayat said. “It's not just a piece or object in the house. It has nature and life to it."
With war in the Middle East, Bayat said she worries about her family in Iran and the artist community there. But she's also hopeful. After years of what she describes as a creative "pause," Bayat imagines a different future.
"We were good at this before, but then it stopped. I think it's — for me, everything in Iran now is a revolution of creativity."
The exhibit coincides with Nowruz, the Persian new year and celebration of spring, and will open with a Nowruz festival.
"This year it's very different, yes. It's hopeful, it's sad — it's full of mixed feelings. We are hoping for a change. And we want to stick to our heritage and we want it to flourish as spring flourishes," she said. "It's Nowruz so it's new everything, you know? It's a start. It's a new start and I hope it has a good start to it."
Maryam Bayat: "Unrolling Paradise"
March 14 - Aug. 16, 2026
Opening reception and Nowruz celebration: Noon-3 p.m. Saturday, March 14 | CCAE | 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | Free-$12 (includes annual membership) | MORE INFO
