Revisited #1 2008

Lalla Essaydi made this photograph, Revisited #1, and it’s all about layering and covering. Look at the way the Arabic calligraphy isn’t just on the background, but also seems to seep into the figure, blurring the lines between body and environment. The neutral palette gives the image a dreamlike quality, like a faded memory. The writing itself becomes a texture, a pattern that both reveals and conceals. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbled canvases, where writing transcends language and becomes pure visual form. See how the details aren’t sharp, but soft? Essaydi isn't interested in clarity, but in the poetics of suggestion. It's like she's whispering secrets, inviting us to lean in and create our own story from the fragments she provides. This piece echoes the work of Shirin Neshat, who uses text to explore cultural identity and gender roles in a similarly evocative way. Art, right? It’s a conversation across time.