Mukani is an Arabic word which means my place.
The shapes I use in my designs are
influenced by Islamic architecture. Their basic forms are used as a backdrop to
the extremely ornamental details that cover the buildings. I use this method in my jewelry to first
bring the viewer in then through the details show another side of the work,
letting them discover its story.
This body of work has developed
once I left my country of Kuwait.
Back home the vanished history did not interest me. Once I came to the United States I was
overwhelmed with nostalgia for a world that I was never a part of. The old architecture and way of life
disappeared after the discovery of oil.
Kuwait rushed forward to join the modern world, and in the processes
erased its past. I wanted to find
a way to connect my self to Kuwait’s history, but at the same time give my self
the freedom to express my ideas. I looked towards what had past for inspiration
to create something new, something that is beginning again. Mukani.
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