Above the Palms (Foq Al-Nakhel), 2023
This artwork intricately weaves the artist's recent emotional journey, with each element carrying personal meaning. Memories, emotions, and anticipation intermingle, capturing life's various complexities. The Arabic song lyrics on the left side of the artwork come from a traditional Arabic song from which the artwork gets its title; a song the artist's beloved Aunt May who recently passed away, used to love and sing often. The phrase, “above the palm tree” is a common Iraqi expression evoking a positive state of being, used frequently as an optimistic reply to the question, “How are you?” The prevalence of the expression and the prevalence of the well-known folk song are often linked. The song's lyrics are sung from the perspective of a lover who looks above to the moon and the evening sky, singing of the pains of unrequited love. This artwork reflects Kassicieh’s navigation of joy and sorrow, forming a profound tapestry of emotions—a visual testament to the human experience.
Five-color lithograph on Off White Rives BFK
Collaborating Printer: Jinkyoung Lee
(23-809)
Listen to one of the many variations of this popular folk song that inspired some elements of my artwork.
I've got a friend above
I don't know if that's the shine of your cheek or a shine above (the moon)
I swear I don't even want her
It's ruining me/It's causing me a problem
فوق إلنا خل فوق يابا فوق النا خل فوق
مدري لامع خدك يابا مدري لامع فوق
ولله ما ريده باليني بلوة
Here is more information on the song, found on a music researcher’s blog (focusing on Arabic music):
I've always tried to understand the song, which eventually led me to discussion forums discussing the lyrics and meaning. That's when I discovered the open secret that the lyrics are not actually فوق النخل, or "above the palm trees," but rather فوق إلنا خل, ie "I've got a friend above/up there" however you want to translate it. According to a discussion among posters in this forum here, the original composers had intended the song to be فوق النا خل (Fog ilna khell). The story behind the song is that there is a poor young man in love with a girl that belongs to a rich family, after seeing her on their big house's balcony and exchanging glances. The song became "Foq al-Nakhel (فوق النخل)" because even though it makes the meaning quite strange, the audiences liked it better, according Sabah Fakhri and others.
This lithograph was printed as part of a workshop at Tamarind Institute, so I worked closely with South Korean master lithographer Jinkyoung Lee to produce this limited edition artwork.
