Moon's whisper

The end of the Gulf War (1990-91) breathed life back into the visual practices of many artists from the region, including the celebrated Kuwaiti artist Thuraya Al-Baqsami. Moving on from Symbolism and back to Surrealism, she emphasised dreamlike scenarios with turquoise skinned figures.

Al-Baqsami created Moon’s Whisper six years after the dissolution of the invasion, and it serves as a natural evolution of her favoured surrealist approach. Within the artwork we see two figures, both with gridlines in place of facial features. While they are still depicted with a turquoise complexion, we see this slowly begin to fade into various other hues, with an emphasis on green and red and a variety of arbitrary symbols and letters drawn onto their torsos.

In the background, Al-Baqsami references the cosmic nature of the title by including a crescent moon accompanied by a singular star – both of which are also turquoise. The link between the figures and the planetary elements within this composition is a refined representation of the artist’s well-known mystical mindset.