Persian rugs used the image of the garden to create an eternal springtime so that, when they did not have access to the beauty of the gardens, they still could remember and admire the beauty of nature. Climate change is now reaching the end game, where beautiful trees and the landscape surrounding us will soon be disappeared. Following up on this, politicians and, in a way, most of us treat this future catastrophe as a problem that a solution for it is a good to have. With this attitude, the beautiful landscape surrounding the Bundanon Art Museum will soon be disappeared. Once Upon a Time captures the beauty of the place and the building within the bushland for the future generation as a once-a-upon-a-time storyboard, as an attempt to urge the viewers to reconsider how we treat our environment. However, this time, there will not be a summer to bring back the beauty!

Jamileh Jahangiri is the founder of Studio Orsi, a research based, invention friendly design studio based in Sydney.  She is an enthusiastic contributor to the Australian architectural community, having been a Juror for the Australian Institute of Architects, chair of the NSW sustainability working group and previous associate contributor of Architecture Bulletin. Jahangiri is passionate about mentoring and teaching and continues to teach at various universities in Sydney. With a strong passion for creating public spaces, Jahangiri’s interest in architecture lies in social and cultural dimensions of the built environment. She is committed to creating places that engage with cultural and social values, that promotes cultural identities and encourages social changes.