Ebon Heath and Mona Ibrahim

Figure 2.4 - Heath, E. Ibrahim, M., (2009). Listening with the eyes. A leather body sculpture in Arabic.

This is a body art piece made by Ebon Heath in collaboration with Mona Ibrahim. In this piece, Heath used a long strip of leather with Arabic calligraphy laser cut out of it (see figure 2.4). I think that he used Arabic calligraphy in a unique way where, the message that he is trying to convey through his works are written on the pieces, quite literally. This is a very literal way to approach a topic but is something that I have considered before.

On his website, Heath (2009) explains, "My typographic sculptures liberate letters from the confines of the two-dimensional page (or screen) to express their unique content in three-dimensional space." Although Islamic art makes use of typography in more than just paper, I think his point is that the message you are trying to convey through your art can be represented as the art itself.

In an article from the My Modern Movement online media, Heath says, “If we adorn ourselves with positive mantras of words, how does that give us reminders of things to value and keep dear?” (Heath 2009). This statement resonates with me because it is my intention to create jewellery that represents the things I value, which is Islam and all of its teachings.