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  • Poem Wall

Saloua Raouda Choucair

Poem Wall

1963–5

© Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation

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In Tate Modern

In the Studio: Infinite Geometry

Free
Artist
Saloua Raouda Choucair 1916–2017
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
Object: 800 × 1645 × 300 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented anonymously 2011
Reference
T13279
  • Summary
  • Display caption

Summary

Poem Wall is made in white painted wood and is one of a number of sculptural works that Choucair made from the early 1960s onwards which use the motif of interlocking forms. Prior to this she had made paintings with a similarly abstract aesthetic (see for example, Composition in Blue Module 1947–57, Tate T13308). Choucair made Poem Wall in Beirut, her home town, and its forms suggest an explicit reference to city architecture, amplified by the work’s title. The painted wooden forms sit on top of, and interlock with each other to create a monochrome structure suggestive of a cityscape with a taller building acting as a ‘bookend’ at either end. The forms mutually support each other and are held in a delicate balance.

Choucair’s use of interlocking forms grew out of her interest in her religion Sufism, and its related poetry, in which individual parts are recognized as having their own identity while contributing to the unity of the whole. Choucair used the term ‘sculptural poem’ for many of her works, such as this one, making explicit reference to the structure of Arabic poetry. The work’s title underlines this association. She has stated: ‘The way I organized my sculptural poems, for example, was inspired by Arabic poetry. I wanted rhythm like the poetic meter, to be at once more independent and interlinked, and to have lines like meanings, but plastic meanings.’ (Quoted in Mulhaq al-Nahar, 23 September 1995, p.10.)

Further reading
Joseph Tarrab, Hala Schoukair, Helen Kahl, Saloua Raouda Choucair: Her Life and Work, Beirut 2002.

Jessica Morgan
August 2010

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

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Display caption

From the early 1960s Choucair created sculptures consisting of interlocking pieces. She was inspired by qasida, a modular form of Arabic poetry. Individual stanzas have their own identity, while still contributing to the unity of the whole poem. Choucair thought of her works as ‘sculptural poems’. She explained: ‘I wanted rhythm like the poetic meter, to be at once more independent and interlinked, and to have lines like meanings, but plastic meanings.’ Informed by theories of quantum physics and Islamic theology, her works invite the viewer to imagine alternative compositions. These are suggested by the visible points of intersection between separate sculptural forms. 

Gallery label, November 2021

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  • abstraction(8,615)
    • from recognisable sources(3,634)
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      • Beirut - non-specific(14)
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      • Islam, Sufism(8)
  • society(15,153)
    • lifestyle and culture(10,247)
      • poetry(85)

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