Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Farthest West - al-Maghreb al-Aqsa

"Farthest West", Acrylic, collage on canvas, 2006

Firstly an apology for the lack of activity on here but between my accounts, starting lecturing again and my show I have barely had enough time to sleep.

My show which will open in 3 weeks time in Edinburgh at the Open eye Gallery has now had the title confirmed as "Farthest West -al-Maghreb al-Aqsa". This is what morocco is more commonly known as in the Islamic world, since it is the farthest West from Mecca (the centre of Islam?). I liked the fact that we would regard Morocco as the near East, but not to the rest of Islam. I guess its all relative.

The show is slowly taking shape and I am desperately trying to finish two largish paintings which should hopefully tie up one or two loose ends. The painting above is a combination of collage worked on top with acrylic and employs a depth change from the left to the right. The 3 keys are part of my collection and have cropped up in a few pieces recently. I am fairly happy with this one, so here's hoping the public like it.