7 Hanging Poems

I was always fascinated by the mystical black cube with Quranic verses embroidered in gold thread, surrounded by masses of people. I learned that the Kaaba was used before Islam as a sacred place for different religions, and that the best poems, written on linen in pure gold water, were hung on its walls: the Mu’allaqat.

The installation is a cube of 3 × 3 × 3 metres covered in black fabric. On three sides hang black cloths embroidered with golden Arabic letters, verses from the Mu’allaqat. The fourth side is open, and the viewer can enter.

The Mu’allaqat — the Suspended Odes — are seven long poems regarded as the finest of the pre-Islamic era. The name is also explained figuratively: the poems “hang” in the reader's mind.