at the lab
Al Haqq
Rajwa Ali & Iona Fournier

9 March – 1 May 2013

Al Haqq is a collaborative project between two artists united by a common philosophy: that by contemplating beauty and harmony, the human soul may progress on its journey towards Truth (Al Haqq in Arabic - one of the names of God).

In the main space of the Lab, viewers are invited to walk along a path that follows the Golden Spiral - a timeless, geometric proportion that holds the key to beauty and harmony in nature and sacred art. As viewers progress along this path, its lines transform from chalk into gold leaf, representing the purification of the soul on its evolution. On the surrounding walls are diagrams that examine the successive stages of the Golden Spiral in nature, and how they relate to the inner state of the soul.

After having progressed along the spiral path, viewers arrive at the final chamber: an inner sanctum that represents the transcendent aspects of the spiritual quest. In this room, the artists use light to express the final, non-material stage of the spiritual journey. At this stage, the soul has shed the limits of the "self" or "ego," and has reached its true destination: Al Haqq.

Rajwa Ali is a Jordanian sculptor inspired by the simplicity of Zen philosophy and Sufi mysticism. Iona FT is an artist from Canada whose work explores the intersection of nature, geometry and the sacred.

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