Pejvak, In the Name of Contemplation (2024)

Pejvak
In the Name of Contemplation  
2024  
risograph print, signed  
edition of 50  
17 x 12 inches
 
 
English translation:
 
"I was a free beautiful woman. Awaiting the return of my man, and my man was a merchant of Indus and Ur who never returned. And a thousand days passed but he did not return, and thousands of days did I offer my harvest to Gods, but he never returned. And I called upon all the Gods, from the great Mardouk to Ara to Ishtar: Oh holy Gods, I’m all alone with my only child, without my man I am but alone, and my land without him is infertile. Alas, the Gods replied but with the scent of burning frankincense and the endless desires of their priests.
...
We are thirsty! Alas the giving Euphrates of Mardouk! Even if you, our Euphrates, were no real judge, you were still a thousand times more giving than Babylonians. Alas taking our home with us to deserts! Alas those night travels! Alas those days burnt under the sun! And now, to go is not even to flee. And now, no longer could patience be the silent song of creation, and no longer will it bloom in dreams. Now, the only verdant-promising destination would be a destination of peace. And now, my soul, my dispersed seven thousand year lost family! This drought is our last ship run aground!"