Guide Us Upon the Straight Path

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Guide Us Upon the Straight Path

Edition: 3/5
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2013
Paintings
Natural ink on paper
Sheet: 21 1/4 × 39 3/8 in. (53.98 × 100.01 cm) Framed: 24 7/8 × 43 × 1 1/2 in. (63.18 × 109.22 × 3.81 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor (M.2013.132)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

Trained as a calligrapher and an architect, Nasser Al Salem has developed his own tripartite approach to writing in which he focuses on the words and their meaning, the medium (he employs video and mi...
Trained as a calligrapher and an architect, Nasser Al Salem has developed his own tripartite approach to writing in which he focuses on the words and their meaning, the medium (he employs video and mixed media for his calligraphy in addition to ink on paper), and the aesthetic, resulting in multivalent, highly nuanced and engaging works. "Guide us upon the Straight Path" represents a real departure from traditional calligraphy as it intentionally references the readings of a heartbeat monitor while adhering to a consistent proportionality in the script. He has exhibited with Edge of Arabia in Istanbul and Jeddah, while his work also was included in a recent exhibition at the British Museum ("Hajj," 2012).

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