Peace Sculpture
Introduction to Project
This sculpture/inflatable is inspired by the form and meaning of the Arabic word "salaam" meaning peace or a greeting to wish peace upon others. In January 2017, the Victoria Islamic Center in Texas was burned down. Since then, there have been several more mosque arsons. The Victoria Islamic Center started a GoFundMe campaign in order to raise money to rebuild their mosque, and it was incredibly successful by reaching over double its goal. The sculpture was shown at the 8th Annual Islamophobia Conference as well as a few locations on the Berkeley campus.
The form of the sculpture mimics the tensions seen during and after the mosque burned down. This is done by creating a sculpture with dualities in form and function. Firstly, the sculpture is the word "salaam," or peace, abstracted into an organic form. This organic form invites interaction with passerby. It encircles the viewers with the feeling of peace as they approach the sculpture. However, this form is similar to that of fire. This form engulfs the viewer as they enter the center of the sculpture and the sculpture feels imposing due to its size. In addition to approaching and touching the sculpture, passerby were given the opportunity to respond to GoFundMe comments written on the sculpture by writing on the sculpture. This was done to not only create more of an awareness of Islamaphobia, but also further support organic interaction with the sculpture.
This project was done in collaboration with Noura Howell from the I School at UC Berkeley and Stan Clark from Astro Botanicals. I assisted Noura in the design process and Stan Clark assisted Noura in constructing the sculpture.
