COLLECTION NAME:
Artists' Book Collection
Record
Title:
Transpose = Tahawool
Creator:
Aly, Islam
Description:
Pamphlets on wooden dowels in a cloth-covered box with magnet closure and cloth pull. Hand stenciled images and inkjet printed text on the interior of the box. Materials: Wooden dowels, linen thread, book board, museum board, acrylic colors, laser-cut handmade and Fabriano paper. Seven laser-cut paper pamphlets in the shape of men's shirts sewn on wooden dowels. Includes a quote from Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist. Limited edition of 40. Artist statement: "'Transpose' is a bilingual book in English and Arabic that investigates talismanic shirts. A worn textile that was believed to offer protection and guidance to the carrier. Historically there were various uses for the talismanic shirts; they could be worn as a shield in battles, during illness, used as protective amulets, and produced for ceremonial purposes. They would have a distinctive vocabulary, a mixture of religious texts, sacred invocations, symbols, magic squares, and seal markings. In 'Transpose', seven pamphlets taking the shapes of shirts are designed and enclosed in the box. Each invokes a different wish: Power, Celebration, Magic, Prosperity, Affection, Peace, and Health. 'Transpose' reveals how garments embed our backgrounds, experiences, decisions, and memories allowing us to live through each garment. The book challenges the notion of power and privilege. Traditionally, these shirts were dedicated to the elite and kept protected in drawers and boxes. Transpose makes these wishes unrestricted for viewers to be rearranged and reordered in various ways according to their preference. After taking away all the pamphlets, the viewer can read a quote on the inner side of the box, emphasizing a greater meaning to each shirt."
Subject:
Language and languages in art
Subject:
Power (Social sciences)
Subject:
Privilege (Social psychology)
Subject:
Quotations in art
Subject:
Religion in art
Subject:
Shirts, Men's
Subject:
Talismans in art
Contributor:
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941
Date:
2021
Language:
English
Language:
Arabic
Type:
Still Image
Extent:
7 pamphlets on wooden dowels : color illustrations ; 22 x 17 cm, in box 25 x 26 x 9 cm
Format/Medium:
Artists' books
Format/Medium:
Boxes (containers)
Format/Medium:
Handmade paper
Format/Medium:
Magnets
Format/Medium:
Pamphlets
Format/Medium:
Thread
Format/Medium:
Wood
Source:
Transpose = Tahawool, in Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, Savannah College of Art and Design.
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Identifier:
b19428297
Identifier:
i13989583
SCAD Location:
Jen Library (Savannah)
