Between 2015 and 2018 I explored premodern Islamic cosmology through the medium of calligraphy. This monograph details the genesis of eight such pieces, so as to draw a general picture of the multidimensional yet unified world-model that for centuries gave humanity a sense of place in the universe and of relationship to the infinite.
The book is 104 pages in full colour, 21x21 cm, perfect-bound, and now available on majnouna.com/shop.
The eight pieces are: the Cloud, the Book of the Moon, Planetary Spheres, Coniunctio, Heavenly Spheres, Celestial Gardens, the Throne, Being and Non-Being.
Here is the introduction:
"The eight art pieces which make up this book can be described as cosmograms. They describe aspects of premodern Islamic cosmology through the medium of calligraphy, and were made between 2015 and 2018.
The geocentric model of the universe both fascinates and delights me. Prior to the Copernican revolution of the 16th century, the geocentric model was common to both the Christian and Muslim worlds, both having inherited it from classical antiquity, which in turn refined a system going at least as far back as Babylonian culture.
This cosmological view, while evidently not reflecting the objective reality of the solar system as we know it today, nevertheless remains a powerful and valuable symbolic truth that reflects reality as it presents itself immediately, subjectively, to our perception. It describes how we actually experience our place in the universe. It's worth pondering the fact that as of 2019, only twelve people have ever set foot on another planet, and even then nowhere near long enough to experience the movement of cosmic bodies from the standpoint of the Moon. No human being will ever observe the universe from the position of the Sun. Therefore, while I in no way dispute the reality of heliocentrism, I find that it is bereft of personal relevance, and offers no hold for a meaningful relationship to a macrocosm.
I never understood why there should be a contradiction between today’s scientific advances in space and this ancient model: they occupy different frames of reference. It’s like saying myth and storytelling are obsolete in a scientifically advanced society. More often than not, the two meet in unexpected ways. As the making of the art pieces was my means of expressing my personal wonderment, so is this little book an invitation to allow story to bring the breathtaking majesty of the universe back into relationship."
