People from the Arabian Peninsula have a very rich oral tradition. Many important events from their history have never actually been recorded – except in their memories, and then passed down orally from generation to generation. Thus, they have woven together this colorful tapestry of all the stories from their past.
At the handicraft center, while the artisans are working, they tell their stories, and I quietly sit beside them, listening attentively. They recite poetry, talk of things that have happened during their lifetimes, or that of of their ancestors. They tell tales, even about the journeys of the Bedouins, as they crossed the desert only following the direction of the wind and the stars, guided by celestial maps, seeking to follow the correct route in order to reach their final destination.
Perhaps this is very much like our journey through life, trying to visualize our geographical location and from there, following the route that leads us through our pathway, seeking answers to questions regarding human existence. At my atelier, I have been weaving “Khous”, (scraps woven by the artisans in the form of spirals, all containing intellectual symbols), tempera painting, thus seeking to continue the spiritual discourse, which they have begun. Man as a natural being is the personification of cosmic power, universal languages of human experience, affirming the relationship with contemporaneity; the search for some spiritual sense within expanded time, which brings about harmony between man, nature and spirituality
Elizabeth Dorazio