As part of their daily prayer rituals, Muslims perform a series of bows and prostrations while facing toward Mecca, which include touching their heads to the ground. Mats or rugs provide a soft, clean, and personal space, especially as prayer is often said in private rather than in congregation. This trio (see M.2016.1.3, .5) of mold-made resin carpets emulates the traditional prayer carpet with a niche design in the center pointing toward the qibla, or direction of prayer. Given their hard material, these are symbolic rather than functional carpets, signifying the importance of the act of prayer five times a day, which is one of the Pillars of Islam.
Maïmouna Guerresi is an Italian-born artist who converted to Islam, joining a Sufi community in Senegal in the early 1990s. Today she divides her time between Verona, Milan, and Dakar, working in photography, video, sculpture, and installation art. Her personal and professional background, along with the strong emphasis she places on her faith and spiritual transformation as visualized through her art, makes her a natural fit within the genre of Islamic art today. Her resin carpets demonstrate further her great versatility and help situate her work within the tradition of Islamic art.
