Tag Archives: family

FOOD FOR THOUGHT ‘Almuallaqat’ 2014

Art Unlimited

MAHA MALLUH
FOOD FOR THOUGHT ‘Almuallaqat’ 2014

maha malluh is a saudi artist, born in the traditional region of najd, who explores the challenges of modernity that have come so overwhelmingly to saudi arabia. she has exhibited since 1976 and has in later years acquired a BA in english literature and a californian certificate in design and photography. continuous in her artwork, that started with collages and developed into photograms, is her use of symbolic and real imagery to express her opinion about life in saudi arabia.

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seen at Art Basel Unlimited via GALERIE KRINZINGER (Vienna, Austria)

“Used aluminium cooking pots from around Saudi Arabia. Sizes vary from pots that fit a leg of lamb to those that fit three camels.

Arab culture is a predominantly literary one, with the Spoken Word being an intrinsic part of the Arab cultural mindset. From the dawn of Arab history and civilization, the oral literature of the region has dominated the cultural scene. It is the pride of every Arab. This is not to say that the visual culture was not important, yet it did not have the same value as the Spoken Word.

As I am interested in the visual culture of our region, and the immense impact globalization has had and is still having on our part of the world, I often find myself contemplating these very significant issues.

To try and come to terms with this shift, from primarily oral to visual culture, which has also come with the rise of the museum institutions, art galleries and fairs in the past decade, this works attempts to create a platform where the literary and the visual are both celebrated and hung.

Old aluminium pots, these ones here which have come from various flea markets around Saudi Arabia, have been used throughout history by Arabs both at home in urban areas, in Bedouin tents, and also more recently in restaurants, as cooking vessels. The sizes of these pots vary, with some able to hold as much as 3 camels. As such these pots held one of the most prized animals of the desert, the camel, in order to feed guests and customers. But with food comes other narratives, other stories, other histories, histories of travel, or adventure, of change, anecdotes and comic tales which people discuss over food. These pots are therefore a celebration of Arab history, of Arab traditions of hospitality as well as of a visual reproduction of personal histories.

The title of this work, is Food for Thought ‘Al-Muallaqat’, a reference to the great muallaqat, or ‘Hanging Odes’, canonical Arabic poems by great pre-Islamic or jahili poets from Arabia that once were hanging on the Ka’ba in Mecca. Unfortunately, these canonical Arabic poems are studied and read as being part of a lost heritage, a past golden age which bears to reflection on our modern realities as Saudi Arabians. This is also met with astonishing records as to the percentage of the reading public in the Arab world.

Thus, what this work calls out for is a reconnection with our literary heritage, but using the visual medium to do so in order to communicate with the rest of the world. Therefore, these hanging pots are both a salute to our literary heritage, as well as being a testament to our current need for everything visual. These pots speak of our revived archaeological search for our visual heritage, our culture that has been in the shadows of our literary heritage for so long. Without dismissing the significance and aesthetic beauty of the original muallaqat, this work both acknowledges the position poetry has in Arab culture and heritage, whilst simultaneously allowing for an engaging visual dialogue with the remainder of the world.”

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are you ready for the holidays

so many things to take care of. it is the busiest time of the year and lots of stress is involved. inviting your friends and family, organizing presents, cleaning the house, booking flights or what ever else we have to do before christmas and new years eve. this year I am quiet organized and I already have almost all the presents – have you seen my wishlist yet?

today I wanna share an italian tradition with you which involves red lingerie! I have found this lovely bra and panty at MANOR in basel (bra 39.90 CHF / panty 19.90 CHF) and I can not wait to wear it for new years eve! the bra is really nicely cut with a slight pushup effect – perfect for a sexy cleavage. there is also a slip and tanga but I am a panty lover and I liked the design of the panty best.

so what do the italians do on december 31? they make sure to wear red lingerie. red is the color of good luck and fortune. by wearing red lingerie they make sure the luck is on their side and to get rid of negative energy. it is also very common to give red lingerie as a present and this will bring lots of good luck to the reciver and will protect him from evil in the year ahead. I think this tradition is really sweet and I also read about other funny traditions like throwing your kitchen ware out of the window 🙂 read more here <<

so I already got my red lingerie. what about you? what is your special tradition for the holidays?

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my everyday jewelry

thats what I currently wear everyday. absolutely in love with my huge golden watch. the Cartier like ring tells a beautiful family story. my parents had white gold wedding bands and divorced after about 20 years or so and kept the rings and are still in a good relationship so for my birthday present – becuase they knew that I love the CARTIER ring and that I always wanted to have one – they brought the wedding bands to CHRISTIN WEBER a goldsmith in Basel and she took a piece of each ring and made a new one out of the pieces. then she added a rose gold and a yellow gold ring and TATAAA! I had my very very personal family cartier ring 🙂 I wear this precious ring everyday since my 29th Birthday and that has been a while. the little tiny ring with the plate is another ring that I have been wearing for quiet a while too. I got it last January at GRIEDER in Basel. It says OUI (yes in french) on the plate – and no I am not married. 🙂 the newest ring is the funny looking one.

watch ADVOLAT
ring CHRISTIN WEBER BASEL
ring DELPHINE PATIENTE
double ring H&M

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<3 HELLO MY DEAR FOLLOWERS <3

<3 HELLO MY DEAR FOLLOWERS <3

do you have a FB page too? please let me know – I would be very happy to check your pages.. here is the link to my FB page – lets stay connected!

–> isawsomethingnice.ch FB page

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COLLARNECKLACES by isawsomethingnice.ch

Available in 3 shapes: round, angled and pointed in fakeleather or felt!
ORDER TODAY!

Do you have Christmas presents for your friends and family?
hmm, well, incase you haven’t, or if you wanna treat yourself with something good, check out my etsy shop or if you are from BASEL, then check out my collection at  SHOWROOM BASEL.

Have a wonderful day! xxx

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