Shirazeh Houshiary

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Houshiary's work is based on her interest in Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. She attempts to express the Sufi quest for wholeness and reunification with the Divinity. In Islamic belief the Divine resides in everyone since humanity is a manifestation of the multiplicity of the sole Divinity. Through a process of inner concentration the Sufi unveils and reveals the layers which separate him from the state of Divinity. Spinning, a sacred action in Islamic belief, is a means of doing this, for the process of removal from the world begins by disorientation. 'Round Dance' refers to this motion. The image consists of layers of words, written in Arabic, which represent interpretations of sayings in the Koran.

Gallery label, February 1995

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