Ahmed Mater at the British Museum

Hajj, Journey to the Heart of Islam is a rare insight into the spiritual journey undertaken by millions of Muslims each year to the city of Mecca. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam; and is a pilgrimage that should be undertaken at least once by every Muslim, if they are able. Once they arrive at Mecca, they complete a number of different rituals over a period of days, each one bringing them closer to the prophets. One of the most visually striking is the tawaf- where millions of Muslims join as one in the sanctuary at Mecca, and circumambulate the central ka’ba, a black box in the centre of the space, seven times anti-clockwise. This tradition goes back as far as the time of Abraham and Ishmael themselves, who are said to have walked around the Ka’ba seven times after they had rebuilt it.

Pilgrims praying to the Ka'ba

 What I found most striking about this exhibition was the work of contemporary artist Ahmed Mater. His works entitled ‘Magnetism’ are wonderfully simple yet perfectly evoke the intimate connection that Muslims feel when they complete the tawaf. In his works, the Ka’ba is recognisable as a magnetic block, and thousands of iron fillings are used to represent the pilgrims, but also the magnetic nature of this most holy of objects. They form beautiful circular patterns around the central block. The large photographic images of these small installations were quite exquisite, and in themselves became almost magnetic.

Ahmed Mater 'Magnetism (Photograuve) I

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/hajj.aspx

The exhibition runs until the 15th April 2012. Tickets £12, free for Friends. 

Ahmed Mater's website: http://ahmedmater.com/