Skies of the Heart
Voices: Etel Adnan, Fatima Belkouch, Rime Mrini, and Peaches
Commissioned for the Marrakech Biennale, Skies of the Heart is an immersive installation that brings together elements in light, sculpture and sound. Visitors walk between the sculptural scaffolding at ground level, or experience the work from above via a stairwell and mezzanine. Five original, hand-crafted lamps cast patterned light throughout the installation, transforming the exhibition space – the foyer of the Théâtre Royale – into a private space of reflection that hovers between the sacred and the secular, a space of both contemplation and reverence. Sound plays from speakers located inside each lamp, transmitting six songs about devotion and love. Through recitation each singer shares in giving voice to the Skies of the Heart. This work involved collaboration in many languages and forms, from recording the singers to negotiating the production of each lamp to building the whimsical scaffolding, the resulting installation is a collective endeavour in both translation and expression.
Songs and poems:
1. Wa’adi / My Love (1976); in classical Arabic, sung by Rime Mrini, orginally performed by Egyptian pop singer Samira Said.
2. I Awake (1989); in English, sung by Peaches, written by Kate MacDonald, originally performed by the American grunge band Soundgarden.
3. Tawnza / The Fringe; in Amazigh (Berber), sung by Fatima Belkouch.
4. The Arab Apocalypse / l'Apocalypse Arabe, Chapter XVIII (1989 / 1980 / 1990); read in English, French and Arabic, written and performed by Etel Adnan.
5. Beautiful Fatma / Lghzal Fatma (18th c.); sung by Rime Mrini, written by poet Benali Ould Arzim.
6. A Chantar; in Occitan (Provençale vernacular), c. 1170, anonymous singer. (This is the only medieval Trobairitz song known to be written by a woman for which we have both the lyrics and the musical notation.)