Published by SKIRA. Edited by Nur Sobers-Khan, Mujadad Zaman. Foreword by Sussan Babaie. Introduction by Venetia Porter. Text by Bilal Badat, Mohammed Hamdouni, Hilal Kazan, Hui-Wen Lu, Nur Sobers-Khan, Soraya Syed.
This volume is the first-ever monograph dedicated to the multimedia artist Soraya Syed (born 1976), a British pioneer of Arabic contemporary calligraphy. In 2005, Syed became the first Brit to be awarded the coveted “ijazah,” a license to practice the art of calligraphy from the celebrated Turkish masters Hasan Çelebi and Efdaluddin K?l?ç. Through her artistic practice, she incorporates the ancient Arabic craft into contemporary mediums such as film, virtual reality and three-dimensional sculptures. Fully illustrated and centered on key works, The Living Script offers unprecedented insight into Syed’s artistic journey and the state of her craft today. The volume is chock-full of essays from scholars, curators and fellow calligraphers, several of whom share teachers within Soraya’s own lineage or have worked closely with her over many years. Together, they consider Arabic calligraphy and its historical significance, cultural contributions and presence as a living, evolving art.
