Eleventh International Conference on The Image

Abstract

Ta’wil is a method, derived from the Quran for the interpretation of text and images, and it is in Shia theosophy that ta’wil flourishes and becomes an advanced method for a creative exegesis. It is a method that transforms images (everything visible) into symbols that are in a state of symbolising. This initiates a transcending perspective on our being, seeing, speaking, and even listening; the world is seen metaphorically and the images we see, are free in transcending from the physical boundaries of their being. A musical score is never performed once and for all, it needs to be performed over and over again, just like that, an image is never explained entirely, it needs to be disentangled and deciphered endlessly (Corbin 1969, 14). This is ta’wil. While bringing ta’wil into a practice-oriented research suggests an emergent methodology in relation to art-making, ta’wil is a well-known method of interpretation in the Muslim world. Ta’wil comes into my art-practice when I refuse the literal understanding of an image. I position my light installations as mirrors, or perhaps small insertions in the grand scheme of things. These installations create small symbolic ripples to encounter and ta’wil (as in decipher) our state of being in this physical world. In this paper I introduce ta’wil as an artistic methodology that involves dialogue through embodied experiences of light and text. I believe understanding ta’wil can change our attitude and our relationship with the world and its images.