Journey to Salsabeel

Installation

Medium: Moving Image, Audio, Ceramics
Year: 2019
Edition: Unique artwork
Shipment: Please contact us if you wish to acquire this artwork

About

And there they will be given a cup whose mixture is of Zanjabil (ginger). A fountain there, called Salsabil. — Qur'an, 76:18-19.

Salsabeel is a spring promised to the faithful in paradise. This work explores the sweetness of promise by displaying cascading honey from a fountain, the lure of the honey is layered with a story about a new queen bee assuming her role in the hive. The story dips in and out of clarity, and transitions into a song with a military drumming beat stylized for children, which then ends with a humming lullaby that stretches until it’s interrupted and eventually lost. The work carries maternal anxieties about conflict, death, and replacing the understanding of heritage with military visuals. The tone emulates that of a mother speaking to her child but is unable to get through as her voice folds and gets swallowed.