Al’Abjadia – Alef Bet (Alphabet in transliterated Arabic and Hebrew respectively) is an exploration of the visual and sonic similarities between the Arabic and Hebrew Alphabets. This series of 12 monoprints is visually founded on a time-based collaboration with Ayesha Mohyuddin, in which we combined the sounds and texts of a Muslim and a Jewish prayer, and inspired by my amateur exploration of religious language, in which similarities between the sounds and meanings of Arabic and Hebrew words coincided (i.e. Salaam-Shalom-Peace). Ayesha and I used our basic religious school knowledge of the two alphabets to pair letters based upon their names.
Language in Israel-Palestine is overtly political, with Hebrew, Arabic, and English as the three national languages and contention over the languages used in schools, work places, and other public spaces. Yet the ancient roots and similarities of the two languages and alphabets speak to an unintentional (abhorred) coexistence. Further referencing sound, the black versus white prints add an element to rhythm and syncopation, the way audibly running through the Al’Abjadia – Alef Bet would feel to the reciter. Although an exploration of the two alphabets, I am not fluent in either language, and pronounce the letters with a distinctly American accent.
The prints can be displayed either on the wall or within its velvet container, a replication of my great grandfather’s tallit’s (prayer shawl) bag.
Sophia Keskey 