I DREAMED THE MOON SWALLOWED ME

ink on canvas, 51 x 51 cm

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The work entitled "I dreamed the moon swallowed me" combines the poetry of Ousha with my poetry. She wrote many poems about the night and moon, as have I. I did not approach the work as a painter, but rather as a poet. I took a quote from the poet saying she dreamed that she dreamed she swallowed the moon until it went through her mouth and nose and filled her entire being. Those words became the backdrop of the night in my work. The moon is formed by her poems and mine, hers being in Arabic and mine in English. Through meditative repetition of her words and her dream, it became my dream too. Her moon became my moon. Her inspiration became my inspiration. Her ink became my ink and our words swallowed each other. That is why I presented the moon as a separate canvas piece being swallowed by the night (the backdrop canvas). I often write my poems on my walks at dawn when the moon lights my path and I selected three of my poems which feature the moon to use for this artwork.

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Noura Ali RAMAHI 

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Born in Lebanon, Noura Ali-Ramahi is an Emirati artist based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut in 1997. Ali-Ramahi featured her works in solo exhibitions at N2N Gallery (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2018); and the Etihad Modern Art Gallery (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2022). She has participated in various group exhibitions both locally and internationally, including at TwoFour54 (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2016); World Trade Center (Dubai, UAE, 2017); Tashkeel Studio (Dubai, UAE, 2021); Art Club (New York, USA, 2021); and the Etihad Modern Art Gallery (Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2021). In 2019, Ali-Ramahi led a Plastic Collage Workshop at Warehouse421 in Abu Dhabi.