press text ii
Standing by the Ruins is a title borrowed from an early pre-Islamic poetic form: wuquf 'ala al-atlal, known as “ruin poetry”. This motif is believed to have originated in the 6th century, with Imru’ al-Qais, the last king of the Kindite kingdom in the Arabian Peninsula, who lived in exile. Considered one of the greatest figures of Arabic literature, his most famous poem describes a character longing for his beloved while looking at a devastated campsite. With this, he became the precursor of a style that is still relevant today, a genre that reflects on love and loss, on destruction and the passage of time, through the lens of abandoned, destroyed or vanishing places.
Awartani’s central installation in the exhibition gives ruin poetry a physical body: a melancholic visual requiem, the work comprises around 730 clay bricks assembled to look like traditional patterned flooring at first glance. In reality, they replicate the geometric designs adorning the outside walls of Qasr Al Basha palace, one of Gaza’s most significant landmarks. Dating back to the mid-13th century, the building carries typical elements from Mamluk and Ottoman architecture and sustained heavy damage in the past year.
