“Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children.” — Gibran Kahlil Gibran

Related to the life and behavior of the animal that coexists with us, Asma Bahmim drew her work around this. Bahmim’s inspiration stems from mythical animals that have typically appeared as heroes of folktales or as depictions in Islamic art. These fables usually ended with wisdom narrated by the animals, teaching us things that humans were unable to understand as if these carried messages full of wisdom which does not depict a lived reality. Through an unfamiliar fantastic vision and creative contemporary processing of the mundane, the exhibition attempts to present another reality of life. Fantasy is a fictional genre in which the supernatural is a key element. In light of this, the inspiration originating from myths and folktales remains a concept. Within this form, fiction and its elements can be identified, hidden, or can seep into the framework of our real world. These characters can be drawn and exist in their fictional universe by using elements of imagination, in which they can become part of the world as a whole.

A mythical animal that lives in a fantasy full of wisdom. A show of mythical animals inspired by the tales of Kalīla wa-Dimna. It introduces a world that lies between reality and imagination based on fantasies created by Asma Bahmim. We can see the king of elephants, ‘Dollar’, debating who owns the moon pond with the rabbit, ‘Firouz’, and the hoopoe carrying what appears to be a page of Eli Magazine. The exhibition focuses on more than 30 dialogues between two animal characters who discuss an encounter, such as a tiger with a horse’s body ,a fox who turned into a dragon after becoming angry, and a child with a bird’s body. It is the embodiment of these characters in the world of fantasy and wisdom. Through this exhibition, Bahmim seeks to revive book art by showcasing the process of weaving, papermaking, and presenting book art miniatures and decorations’ design while preserving its technicality and aesthetics. Simultaneously, the artist explores the current issues and notions of the contemporary world, through the use of mythical creatures at times and realism at others, to narrate moral stories told by animals and birds. The fables continue to include several intertwined stories as they attempt to go full circle, with each story leading to the next. This creates a world full of wisdom and experiences that the viewer can capture and use, providing a new reading distinguished by its style and conceptual depth.

Within this artistic form, the narration of these fables by animals is a method by which one might acquire moral and cultural wisdom, while it tends towards symbolism in the meaning behind the characters and the events they embody, particularly debate. In reading the miniatures, the witness traces the image of the actual characters, that might be told by both animals and humans. The exhibition seeks to ponder and reflect on two axes; what kind of dialogue can occur within the animal world, and the exploration and revealing of wisdom at the end of each story. In artistic practice, two states of consciousness and subconsciousness intersect within the artist, resulting in a semi-unconscious state discovered only by those who have talent and imagination, similar to the ability to fly in a vast infinite horizon. This state is not deliberate or self-controlled, rather, it emerges from the artist’s emotional sincerity. Therefore, imagination is perceived as the unfamiliar, which may be met with rejection at first, but eventually, people adapt to it, and it becomes part of their heritage. Hence, we often indulge in fantasy, to live reality and symbolize it. Mythical creatures have been present in the depths of human existence in the arts of all countries throughout the ages and are not subject to specific rules for their creation in popular culture. The medieval style dominates the literary genre of fantasy; where the imagination does not exist within reality, but rather constructs its own by generating new innovative images. If we only relied on the world of reality, our lives would be devoid of imagination, perception, or improvement.