2017, LED, wood, steel, neodymium magnets, MDF, laser-cut acrylic sheet
Arkan (pillars) are significant in the Islamic tradition. They are mentioned in hadith as a metaphor for the foundation of faith and a framework for life. Noor integrates symbols from traditions that are often presented in the populist mainstream as mutually exclusive. The pattern, featured on Mashrabiya (lattice screens), is mobilised here as a metaphor for transcultural communication. The Southern Cross, with its nationalist connotations, is embedded in the geometric design, presenting Islam and Australian nationality as compatible if not complementary.
Noor obscures the threshold between artefact and audience. The six-sided pillar replicates the “petal” of the laser-cut geometric pattern that adorns its upright panels. LED lights cast light out; creating an interplay of light and shadow to throw overlapping geometric patterns that activate the space. Audiences eclipse the projected patterns as they walk amongst them. Audiences are cast in intersubjective relationships with each other within the artwork; shaping elements of the work and affecting each others experience. The suggestion is that the boundaries of private subjectivities might be perceived as permeable and co-constructed through “difference” in our relationships with each other.