About
Index of Sighs, 2024
Part 8 of I Stared At Beauty So Much project
Sound piece, framed photographic prints,
36 x 26 cm, QR Code
Part 8 of I Stared At Beauty So Much project
Sound piece, framed photographic prints,
36 x 26 cm, QR Code
When faced with overwhelming uncertainty, when words fail in their purpose, when dialogue seems impossible – we exhale a sigh. Liberation, exasperation, helplessness, encouragement, relief, enjoyment or pleasure, a sigh can sincerely express our deepest, wordless sensations. Entirely understandable yet indecipherable, a sigh blurs the boundaries of language and expression. For the artists, Index of Sighs resonates with the song al-Atlal (The Ruins) in which Umm Kulthum laments the loss of love. The heartache and melancholy, released in the single exhaled breath of a sigh, are amplified in the density and immensity of silence that follows. The sigh is a multitude; a message, a poem, a resistance, a pulse of life.
