Inside the Black Enclosure, a collaboration with Ahmad Al-Qasabgi and his artisans, evokes this focal site of spiritual practice. Viewers are invited to walk into the inner space of a dark cubic room, illuminated only by black fluorescent lighting. Inside the enclosed darkness, all that can be seen across the black walls is a shimmering white panel on which black inscriptions are discernable.
Repeatedly embroidered in calligraphic inscription encircling the room is the Qur’anic verse affirming: To Allah belongs East and West, for wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah (walillah al-mashriq wal-maghrib fa’aynama tuwallu fathamma wajhu Allah).
The Islamic Arts Biennale is curated by Sumayya Vally, Dr. Julian Raby, Dr. Saad Al-Rashid, and Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr.
