Installation view
Installation view at Ateneum Art Museum (2018)
Mixed media installation
Al-Warqaa is inspired by Avicenna’s poem (Ode to a Human Soul), which compares the journey of the soul to the flight of a dove. In his verses the soul represents a timeless, ethereal entity that soars beyond the body after death. It signifies eternity, detached from the heavenly sphere. A suspended object radiates light and depicts an intangible outline of a dove reflecting this concept through a visual language.
A suspended light-based sculpture radiates light and depicts an intangible outline of a dove reflecting this concept through a visual language.
“It descended upon thee from out of the regions above, That exalted, ineffable, glorious, heavenly Dove. Twas concealed from the eyes of all those who its nature would ken Yet it wears not a veil, and is ever apparent to men. Unwilling it sought thee and joined thee, and yet, though it grieve, It is like to be still more unwilling thy body to leave. It resisted and struggled, and would not be tamed in haste, Yet it joined thee, and slowly grew used to this desolate waste, Till, forgotten at length, as I ween, ere hounds and its troth In the heavenly gardens and groves, which to leave it was loath.”
Extracted from: Ode to a Human Soul by Ibn Sina (Avicenna).
Details:
Suspended steel structure, acrylic sheets, LED lights, rope and customized stone
Dimension: 190 cm x 600 cm x 400 cm