Between 1974 and 2005 years, the artist Suha Traboulsi created dozens of watercolor/collages. Small in size (A4), she regarded these as drafts for larger future works. After her death in 2012, the drafts were found in a folio labelled “Festival of Ingratitude.” The folio also included the following note:
At the age of 7, I could not read. Words floated and drifted on a page like rudderless boats on the open sea. I was told that I was dyslexic.
At 11, some words reeked while others were fragrant, even sweet. I wondered whether this lexical oddity resulted from my dyslexia or from the odorous attraction or repulsion of words to each other. I was told that I had hyperosmia.
At 15, I was taught to form sentences by connecting aberrant words with colored lines. I was finally able to read.
For a while, at least.