ABJAD HAWAZ

2016

The Abjad Hawaz series is the result of Awartani’s developing of a visual system and code based on the scholarship and history of Ilm Al Huruf (the science of numbers). She builds upon the ancient numerical system, expansively divining an aesthetic language that revivifies the abjad and insists on its relevance. She is interested in the co-dependency inherent in geometry where the form is the result of a numerical expression – without which geometry would not exist. Awartani abstracts and imparts pure meaning using this method to create a harmonious and formal expression of complex notions that are difficult to succinctly synthesise.

Awartani’s visual language invites the viewer to participate in its coding and meaning-making, the direct translation of number into form becoming decipherable for viewers, even for those without a background in these traditions. In the system, each shape’s angles and repetitions equate to the numerical value or sum of the individual letter. So, as we engage with the form, the sense of the system emerges – we see that alef is not only shaped like the number one but is the number one. From here, a further kind of comprehension grows, with historic, scientific and mathematical symbolism potently coalescing as they are woven into the invested values of Awartani’s focussed expression. Understanding expands and we are able to appreciate alef as the original letter, the representative of the principle of unitary being. Accordingly, Awartani achieves a concurrent expression of this number, letter, and concept with a circle – the symbol of unity and creation. The other letters of the alphabet are said to have evolved from the letter alef into the variety and multiplicity of the alphabet, which for the hurufis, represents the cosmos. In the geometric tradition, the circle is the creator and originator of all geometry, where every design starts and finished within the circle.

Abjad Hawaz, 2016, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 28 pieces – 24.5 x 24.5 each. © Dana Awartani

Alif from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Dal from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Noon from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Meem from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Dha from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Dhad from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani

Ghayn from the Abjad Hawaz, Shell gold, gouache and ink on paper, 24.5 x 24.5. © Dana Awartani