سنة الحياة | NORMS OF LIFE. 2019
Norms of Life is a two non-consecutive event—a henna night and a wedding night— held on July 21st and 24th, 2019, respectively, at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE. The aim was to delve into transitional events as profound moments of transformation. These meticulously crafted spaces and rituals were conceived to prepare the physical body for the impending change, be it through mourning or celebration. At its core, the performance emphasized the communal aspect of social rituals, recognizing their role in navigating the norms of life. By immersing participants in these invented psy- chological spaces, the intention was to illuminate the inevitability of presence and absence in life’s unfolding tapestry. The power of these performances lay in their abil- ity to evoke tension, stir emotions, challenge perceptions, and reveal beauty even in moments of pain.
Norms of Life was deeply inspired by the passing of the artist’s father, drawing from the death rituals. She found herself thrust into a role within a collective performance, surrounded by individuals gathered in support and remembrance. The experience blurred the boundaries between mourning and celebration, with striking similariies bertweendeath and a marriage ceremonies. The departure, a poignant aspect of the performance, mirrored the uncertainty of disconnect. Yet, through her conscious pres- ence, even in her absence, a sense of peace permeated her departure. This immersive experience seeks to blur the lines between marriage and death rituals, traversing spaces of remembrance encompassing both celebration and grief. It explores the intricate relationship between love and loss, highlighting the profound truth that one cannot mourn what was never cherished.
This event happened on 24th of July, 2019, at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai - UAE
“The women gathered without their men. They came with good intentions and their good food. They fed each other and were fed. They danced, celebrated their sisterhood, and encourage each other to heal. They observed the bride celebrate her grief and surrender to the process. The women witnessed the process of transformation, and they were transformed in the process.”
Henna night | ليلة الحناء in collaboration with henna artist Dr. Azra
21 JULY, 2019- Henna has grounding and healing properties. It is said that applying it on the body absorbs heat and releases negative blockages, allowing an abundant flow of luck and blessings. It is a way to prepare the feminine body for a transformation and a new begin- ning. Dr. Azra, a friend and henna artist with a background as a chiropractor and a keen understanding of the human body, agreed to collaborate with me on this performance. The event was the culmination of a genuine and sincere bonding experience that began with the simple, but powerful, question: How will it feel if I go, when I go, and now that I am there? In similar vein, the women were pulled into the performance with the implicit promise that they might experience release, transformation, and community through these rituals. The objective was to create an intimate and celebratory experience by tapping into the communal rituals of the henna practice. To that end, Dr. Azra’s role was to visually map the emotional history of the bride as they had manifested upon her body in the past.
The intimate event took place on the 21st of July, at 5:00 pm at Alserkal Avenue, ware- house 51. The women gathered without their men. They fed each other, they danced, celebrated their sisterhood, and encouraged each other to heal. They observed the bride celebrate her grief and surrender to the process. During the performance, the celebratory traditional henna practice juxtaposed with the sterile modern clinical setting to transform the space into a hypnotic voyeuristic dream. It created a powerful contrast that charged the room and elicited genuine reactions: the smell of the henna in cool metal bowls, the swirling LED lights, the white mattress on the floor, the bride and Dr. Azra’s presence in that place. The women witnessed the process of transformation and were transformed by the process in return.
More about this performance click here.
The wedding | العرس in collaboration with Cosmic Roots
21 JULY, 2019. 6:30 pm. Alserkal Avenue- this wedding aim was not to unite people, it was to unite dualities. In this performance, weddings and funerals were experienced concurrently as a festive spectacle, which people witnessed and participated in. The event deliberately confuses wedding and funerary rituals by performing them simultaneously, despite their oppositional nature, as activities and practices that prepare the physical, emotional, and conscious body for a transition.
The zaffah/wedding procession was inspired by an experience I observed while living in Beirut: What looked like a festive wedding procession in the street was, in fact, a funeral. Amidst the cacophony of cars beeping, a crowd of men carried a coffin towards a family residence while others threw rice and played music. When a young unmarried man dies a sudden death, the family can choose to celebrate him as if it were his wedding day. They metaphorically wed him so they may experience the joy of celebrating his potential, so his mother gets the chance to celebrate him. In funerals, the men usually handle the corpse, and they are also the ones who serve the lamb. In the performance, the bride handled the body. She wore a traditionally tailored men’s dress and walked down the aisle to the body. In weddings, a wallimah/ Feats is one of the requirements in announcing a marriage, so something must die for something new to begin, whether it is on this earth or in the afterlife. Instead of the men, the bride took the bones apart, broke the skull, and served the flesh to the guests. The lamb be- came a representation of the destructive nature of life and is transformed into a source of energy and nourishment. Everyone was invited to this dreamlike celebration and mourning of all that we loved and all that we lost. More about this performance here.
“This is a purging journey performed through the act of walking. Our sweat and tears won’t go in vain. We will keep on walking. Life goes on. We’ll make our presence known. We may suffer, but it’s all part of the process. The mind is a powerful tool you can choose to experience joy, and you can choose to experience fear. This is where you can experience both. This is where you find courage to live again. The time will come when you are born again.”
“This is a space of contemplation. It is a resting space to find our breath, stillness, and inspiration. Our ancestors will be remembered, and we will be cleansed by their scents and the ashes they left behind. It is time for our sweat and tears to dry, and for our bodies to rest, and for the words to practice silence. the codes will be recalled, so will our purpose and our good intentions.”
