Take seven seeds every morning, 2026
Blind embossing, Edition 1 of 3
99,5 cm x 70 cm
Artist’s Statement
When thinking about prayer, one is often faced with the reality that it is not something tangible. Faith is no object, it is an intense feeling that resonates within. Muslims, however, make use of a musallah (prayer mat) to perform their 5 daily prayers, this is the material source for my work and practice at large.
The musallah holds the traces of every supplication given. As Jacques Derrida suggests that the trace can be seen as the absent part of the sign’s presence, so that which is only present due to the absence of something else. As I sit on my own musallah, my body is actively leaving energy on the fibers, threads and ground. The pure blindness of submitting to a Lord that I cannot see, but can only feel consumes the practice of my work. The blind embossing mimics my own blindness, but acknowledges His presence. By attributing Divine presence to the wonders of the natural world, as all healing stems from, and in one way or another, from plants, the imagery put into this musallah are motifs of the Nigella flower, otherwise known as kalonji. It was narrated by our Prophet Muhammed (may peace be upon him) that the seed of this plant (kalonji) contains a cure for every illness except death. This very narration shaped the way that Muslims perceive health and healing, incorporating the medicinal properties of its tiny seeds into their daily routines to reap the benefits.
