AL-ANDALUS PARADISE / AL-ANDALUS PARADISE

The 11th century Andalusian poet, philosopher and sage Ibn Hazm wrote in his book “El collar de la paloma” (The Dove’s Necklace): “The heart is a bird that, if it does not find its nest, cannot be at peace.” These paintings are a search for identity after a reunion: When the dancers Cristiane Azem and Myriam Soler traveled from Spain to the Netherlands, they brought their Al-Andalus dance and music show. It was at that moment that I had the opportunity, along with other companions, to experience Andalusian dance. The Sephardic songs lost in time, the fabrics used in their dance costumes and the slow, sweet and elevated movement inspired a song to nostalgia that I channeled through painting. This is the story of my search for my identity. Like the bird the poet talks about, I can paint from the perspective of someone who left everything behind. I can’t help but feel reflected in that bird that searches for its place in the world. And so, with these paintings, meeting dancers again, remembering the gardens of the Alhambra, and listening to medieval instruments, I felt a reconnection with my “nest.” A part of me that had been lost in time, like the diaspora of that Al-Andalus, which took with it architecture, songs, and readings. And through these elements I have created a space where I can be myself. This union between dance and painting is also the testimony of the search for my place in the world, a place where I obtain inner peace by reconnecting with what I love.