This is my latest commission. The figure of a woman jumping is created using the Diwani Djali script. The text reads “Always do what you are afraid to do” and is repeated exactly three times to create the shape of this woman conquering her fear.
The text in this piece is the entire 110th book of the Qur’an. It is part of my ongoing project ‘The Quran for Solidarity‘.
The image is a homage to Japanese artist Hokusai’s woodcut The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Apologies for the low quality, a scan will be up soon.
This surah is believed to have been the last one given to Muhammad and a sign of his approaching death.
This Surah, entitled ‘Al-Nasr,’ meaning ‘The Victory’ is composed of 3 verses, a translation of which can be seen below, courtesy of Sahih International.
110:1 When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest,
110:2 And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,
110:3 Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.
This piece is part of my recent experiments with color, employing complimentary shades of red and green and rules of space whereby aesthetically the space left white should exactly equal the amount of space which is colored. The text in this piece is the entire 99th book of the Qur’an. It is part of my ongoing project ‘The Quran for Solidarity‘.
This piece is part of my recent experiments with color, in this case using just my favorite green, the color of Islam. The elephant is formed entirely using only Arabic calligraphy in the ornamental Diwani Jali script. The text in this piece is the entire 105th book of the Qur’an. It is part of my ongoing project ‘The Quran for Solidarity‘.
This piece is formed entirely using only Arabic calligraphy in the ornamental Diwani Jali script. The text in this piece is the entire 103rd book of the Qur’an. It is part of my ongoing project ‘The Quran for Solidarity‘.
This Surah, entitled ‘Al-’Asr’, meaning ‘The Time’ is composed of 3 verses, a translation of which can be seen below, courtesy of Sahih International.
103:1 By time,
103:2 Indeed, mankind is in loss,
103:3 Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
The poem “Incongruity” aka “Nightmare” by Lebanese poet Yehia Jaber is written once in the Diwani Jali Arabic calligraphy script to create the image of water running from a tap.
This piece was one of eight designs, commissioned by Reel Festivals to accompany their poetry publication featuring contemporary poets from Lebanon, Syria, and Scotland. One piece was commissioned for each of the eight poets featured in the festival. In preparation for the festival, all of the poets travelled to Lebanon in order to translate each others poems from Arabic to English and vice versa, this is one of those recently translated poems. This image was also featured in the Anon 8 poetry anthology.
Translation:
Incongruity by Yehia Jaber
I am not mad-
but his morning
I saw the sea in the sink
Translation by Lauren Pyott
Golan Haji's poem '8th Son'
A verse from the poem “8th Son” by Syrian poet Golan Haji is written once in the Diwani Jali Arabic calligraphy script to create the image of a human skull in profile.
This piece was one of eight designs, commissioned by Reel Festivals to accompany their poetry publication featuring contemporary poets from Lebanon, Syria, and Scotland. One piece was commissioned for each of the eight poets featured in the festival. In preparation for the festival, all of the poets travelled to Lebanon in order to translate each others poems from Arabic to English and vice versa, this is one of those recently translated poems.
Verse 3 of “8th Son” by Golan Hadi
Always
those who are being loved are the others
I will not live
as a stone in a locked room
I will lie down under the skull of my father
as an incomplete kiss
I will leave the lips of my sister
she who has just been killed.
Translation by Mazen Maarouf and Lauren Pyott
