Historical Importance and Sanctity of Place
Abdul Rahman Al-Sulaiman
These artists have also tried todrawaspects of theholyplaces, which cannot be seen within the perspective of modern art. Meaning, in addition to expressing their own feelings, they have included the prevailing artistic concept and also added extra images to highlight the holiness of the place. Their works are also replete with decorative arts that are hallmarks of most Islamic paintings. The decorative arts in the paintings are either geometrical designs or botanical forms that can be seen in woven textiles and carpets, some of which are used as prayer mats. In such drawings, an artist enjoys more freedom to express his feelings towards the Holy Kaaba, the dome of the Prophet’s Mosque and the Dome of the Rock Mosque. The pilgrimage to Makkah leaves such a strong impact on Muslims, some of which feel privileged to gain the Haji title. Egyptians in the city of Al-Saeed used to draw pictures on the outside walls of pilgrims’ houses in order to announce to the public that they have performed Haj, one of the main pillars of Islam. The Haj remains a desire for many as expressed by the Iranian artist Khosrow Hassanzadeh who said: “I was born and brought up in a family whose main hope and aspiration and major ambition in life was the performance of Haj.” Some places leave an impact and image in our minds, which sometimes develops into a spiritual bond. Such places will undoubtedly have a greater impact when they are part of our culture and faith. In this exhibition titled “The Ultimate Journey,”we can see a variety of exquisite work by a selected group of artists from different parts of the world including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey and Malaysia. Although the artists live far away from one another, their faith in one religion and one God brings them closer. The difference in their presentations came as a result of the varying impressions they had about the sacred places when they looked at them from different angles. They presented either a picture almost similar to the origin or a modified version by adding an artistic
There is an eternal relationship between man and place. Places like home bring peace and tranquility toman especially when they are linked with his childhood. But we will have a different relationship when the place is connected with our faith. The relationship then becomes stronger and firmer as it is based on spirituality. Such a relationship generates a strong desire to visit those places. All mosques are the house of Allah and a Muslim receives spiritual enlightenment and exhilaration when he visits them for worship. All Muslim has a strong desire to visit the Grand Mosque in Makkah as well as the two other holiest mosques, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Places of worship, whose spirituality surpasses them physically, elevate man to a new world of spiritual excellence and exaltation. As a result, reaching the sacred place will always remain a wish of every Muslim. Muslim artists can paint the pictures of the Grand Mosque, the Holy Kaaba in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque and the Al-Aqsa Mosque — the first Qiblah of Muslims and the place from which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ascended to the seven heavens — in a forceful and imposing manner, depicting the strong impressions the holy places had left in their minds and souls when they first saw them. No doubt that a Muslim individual will find peace and tranquility in these places by following the divine teachings of Islam. The spirituality and sacredness embedded in these architectural structures make them different. When we go through the works of the participating artists, depicting their impressions and imaginations about the holy places, we see how they differ from one another, and how different their visions are. We find in the works of Muslimartists fromcountries far away fromArabia a strong desire to reach this holy place. The paintings of these non Arab artists were based on either their imaginations or photographs of the holy mosques they had seen or what they had heard. They have painted the Holy Kaaba clad in the same black cover and the same cubic structure.
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