Artist Book
Rosen i migrationens hus - Ų§ŁŁŲ±ŲÆŲ© ŁŁ ŲØŁŲŖ Ų§ŁŁŲ¬Ų±Ų©
(The Rose in the House of Migration)
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An art project in the form of a book - image/form/layout by the artist Maria Koolen Hellmin with poem by the Syrian-Swedish writer Souad Alkhateeb living in Sweden since 2015.
The project stems from a meeting between artist and writer and their/our shared fascination with the artist Ivan Aguéli. The meeting between the Western and the Arab tradition was central to Ivan Aguéli's life. The work on this book has been about portraying, in the present tense, a possible meeting between two cultures, two languages, through text – image – form.
The starting point has been the readability of the two written languages; Swedish from the left, Arabic from the right. The book has two front pages, no back pages. The text can be read from both sides. Pictures run through the book and, with their transparency, have no back pages either.
A symmetrical book. A space, time, a movement through, back and forth.
The book is hand-stitched with red thread. The book's text is printed in red. The red color has been central during the process.
Photo/Image/Graphic form: Maria Koolen Hellmin
Poem: Souad Alkhateeb
Translation: Jasim Mohamed
Typography and typesetting: John Eyre
Image editing: Frans Koolen
Print: Crimson
Bookbinding: Bokateljén Katarina Perssonāāāāāāāāāāāā
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