Noor (Light)

Artist Statement

I work on the concept of time mainly by dissecting and analyzing time in relation to movement and the pace at which time moves and I usually demonstrate this in relation to stories from my own cultural and social background.

In 2003, I created a video entitled Matrimonio, which means 'wedding', as a Catholic, at that time I didn’t know that after a few months I would be converting to Islam. Therefore, with this new project, I see the ‘wedding’ in a different way, not only for religious but also for cultural reasons.

My main idea is to work on the emotional impact that the intensity of light creates, emphasized by its use in the festivities of marriage - a universal event but one of vital social importance for the GCC countries like the UAE. I also utilize a protective dark solar filter, something else fundamental for living in a country where summer temperatures can rise as high as 50 degrees. This filter does not only refer to the climatic factor but also to the desire of many to maintain a sense of privacy.

Moreover, the work will contain representations of very familiar objects - a house, a mosque, a car and buildings - all of them in a spherical globe, as though trapped by waves of light and almost symbolizing the intense heat of the sun’s rays. These images represent closed spaces that contain air conditioning around which so much of life revolves.


2009

Excerpted from Provisions, Book 1, catalogue for the 9th Sharjah Biennial

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9