(حمَام لول) Ancient Doves

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Artwork description:

My three formative works are a single piece, expressing the life of doves in old Bahraini homes. Doves used to accompany Bahraini households and live with family members, often on their rooftops or nesting in corners and walls of houses, whether inside or out.

Therefore, domestic doves were stable in old Bahraini homes, familiarizing themselves with the family members, settling there, and breeding in safety and peace without fear. House owners would provide food for the doves in the form of barley grains or leftover rice or bread, in addition to placing water for them in a round dish to drink when needed.

Unfortunately, this type of domestic dove is no longer present in Bahraini homes. The old methods of construction, house building materials, and architectural styles are also no longer in use today. In the past, houses were horizontal, whether for the rich or the poor, and every home had a courtyard surrounded by rooms with their inner and outer walls. Additionally, houses had rooftops. All these factors attracted doves to settle and become familiar with the homes, especially since people treated the doves and their upbringing and feeding as a symbol of blessing, goodness, peace, and security for them. This symbolism was present in the Bahraini culture and behavior—consciously or unconsciously—and played a role in the Bahrainis' love and attachment to doves. Doves are soft to the touch, extremely affectionate, quickly become familiar, and always return to their nests.

I tried to embody all the ideas mentioned above and everything related to the life of domesticated doves in old Bahraini homes in my three sculptural works, which are, at their core, a single piece as I mentioned. And because I am designing an artwork connected only to the past (history) and has no relation to the present or future dimensions, I depicted the horizontal old Bahraini houses in a vertical form for compositional requirements on one hand, and more importantly, to evoke a sense of historical extension in its past dimension on the other. This is because it represents the past history that will not return. Through my work, I have paused that ancient past in the verticality of the residential units, while preserving their simplicity and envisioning the form of doves and their life within the walls and old rooftops of those houses, which were suitable for Bahrain's marine, agricultural, and terrestrial topography and environment.

Artwork size:

90 cm

Materials used:

White stone