al-Mutanabbi

The verses of tenth century poet Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi al-Kindi have been uttered, copied, praised, imitated and enthused around the world, perhaps nowhere else more than in Baghdad.  In the old quarter of this city, just a few steps from the Tigris River bank, al-Mutanabbi Street lies.

In the 20th century, nationalists, pan-Arabists, leftists and all sort of intellectuals and artists from Iraq and the Middle East stepped in this very same street in search of knowledge. This happened even in times of war and confusion, such as in March 5, 2007, when a bomb exploded just as sellers arranged their books for passersby to see.

A collaboration with artists Catherine Cartwright , Heather Matthew and poet Ali Aldahesh, al-Mutanabbi was an Arabic poetry and literature reading at Yarranabbe Park, Sydney, where the 320m length of the original street in Baghdad were laid out, marking it with classic and contemporary Arabic poetry attached to the waterfront lamp posts, and walked and read through by the participants.

This work is part of the curatorial initiative Modelab (2017).

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