BARAKAT

SALAM

This work takes the form of a visual mantra based on the repetition and intensification of the Arabic word (سلام) Salam (peace). Through repetition, the word shifts from a linguistic meaning into a contemplative state—becoming something closer to a prayer or a visual talisman in which meaning is invoked and activated.

The work draws from ancient Middle Eastern traditions in which letters and words were arranged into symbolic formations across languages such as Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian. Within these practices, language was not only a tool for communication, but also an energetic medium—used to connect the conscious and the unconscious, and to concentrate meanings such as protection, healing, or peace.

By revisiting these traditions, the work does not seek a return to the past, but rather a reactivation of this symbolic relationship in the present. It becomes an invitation to reintroduce a sense of magic and wonder into our connection with the world—both in our relationships with others and with nature.

In this sense, Salam is not only a word, but a state to be invoked and practiced—a gesture toward reconnecting the mystical with the everyday.

Barakat