Nazars
"Nazars," drawing series, Janet Silk, 2022
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In 2012, my essay “From Life Art to Hijab” was featured in Stretcher, a San Francisco Bay Area contemporary art and culture publication. I talk about my spiritual quest that led me to study and learn Qur’anic Arabic. While on that path, I developed a relationship with the Qur’an and came to regard the divine text as a steady friend. As part of a memorization practice, I would recite and handwrite verses (ayats) from the Qur’an. The pen and ink drawings presented in “From Life Art to Hijab” are visual artifacts of this intimate, performative, and meditative act. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, I returned to this practice. At first, I copied random verses, but I was particularly drawn to chapter (surah) 68: Al-Qalum, The Pen. The general message of Al-Qalum is one of encouragement. The Prophet Muhammad is urged to continue his mission and not to give up out of frustration. In Al-Qalum, there are two verses (51 & 52) that refer to the concept of “the evil eye.” Based on Yusuf Ali’s English translation, these two verses read as follows: |
51. And the Unbelievers Would almost trip thee up With their eyes when they Hear the Message; and they Say: “Surely he is possessed!”
52. But it is nothing less Than a Message To all the worlds.
Nazars are a result of my continuing connection to the Qur’an and my questions about the psychological and symbolic meaning of nazars (evil eyes).
The concept of the “evil eye” (al-ayn in Arabic) is that we generate an energy field when we look at each other with an envious or malevolent gaze. For some people, “giving the eye” or deflecting the eye is real; for others, this is considered a superstition. Within more orthodox Islamic study circles, there are arguments against the existence of “the eye” and recommendations to avoid deploying talismans or amulets to protect oneself.
However, and, seemingly in contradiction, Islamic amulets are common and people will create their own, display Qur’anic calligraphy, or decorate their environment with ornamental amulets with specific verses to positively elevate the mood and atmosphere of their environment. Among many others, verses 51 and 52 are considered beneficial for spiritual protection and healing. Actually, the entire Qur’an is both a message and object with the potential for protection, guidance, and healing.
Perhaps more familiar are evil eyes, known as nazars, which are talismans or amulets created to ward off an envious or malevolent gaze. They look like fried blue eggs, are often rendered in glass or worn as jewelry, and have become popular worldwide. They even have their own emoji!
For several years, nazars started turning up and became a presence in my life. First, while living in Cairo, I would see them peering from bazaar stalls or nailed over doorways. Later, friends would gift them to me as souvenirs from trips to Istanbul or a neighbor would pass them my way as found treasures from local thrift stores. I ended up with a small collection, some of which I installed around the door to my live-work space in the artists community where I live.
Because of their ubiquitous presence, I was drawn to explore nazars’ deeper meaning and eventually they made their way into my art practice. I referenced their basic blue, black, and white eye iconography for a sculpture project, Minimalist Evil Eyes, and made evil eyes as fabric embellishments on my costume for a performance art project, Evil I Skater. In reflection, I realize that I have been living with and working with nazars as talismanic images and objects.
My “nazar drawings” serve several purposes. The performative act of writing becomes a ritualized zone of contemplation and meditation, which is an end in itself. Repetition of verses 51 and 52 and the hindu-arabic numbers “786” aligns with recitation and chanting practices. Prolonged repetitive verbal utterance are typical to many meditation practices. Scientific studies have demonstrated the benefit of this type of meditation on brain activity. People can reach a state of calm or even euphoria.
The resulting handwritten object itself becomes a talisman, record, and statement of intention. Each written, individual letter contains blessings and benefits for the reader, writer, and audience. I write the hindu-arabic numbers “786” which is an abbreviated symbol. The numbers are a shorthand version of the Qur’anic phrase “bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim,” according to the mystic numerical system of abjad.
Typically, the longhand version of the phrase is written and recited at the beginning of each chapter of Qur’an. “Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim” is a stand-alone phrase said by Muslims at the beginning of any undertaking. The meaning of this Islamic phrase is, “In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful.” So, each 786 is an invocation of the bismillah. The geometric grids resemble shields, antennas, kites, and blueprints. The grids provide a visual frame for the verses and numbers, which are pre-planned in terms of layout yet intuitively written in the moment.
These prayer-blueprints celebrate my ongoing relationship with the divine text which provides comfort, protection, connection, and a way to navigate daily stresses and traumatic events. The drawings are installed around the outside of my live-work space and are on view for the public during
Developing Environments’ DE@50 event on November 5-6, 2022.
The concept of the “evil eye” (al-ayn in Arabic) is that we generate an energy field when we look at each other with an envious or malevolent gaze. For some people, “giving the eye” or deflecting the eye is real; for others, this is considered a superstition. Within more orthodox Islamic study circles, there are arguments against the existence of “the eye” and recommendations to avoid deploying talismans or amulets to protect oneself.
However, and, seemingly in contradiction, Islamic amulets are common and people will create their own, display Qur’anic calligraphy, or decorate their environment with ornamental amulets with specific verses to positively elevate the mood and atmosphere of their environment. Among many others, verses 51 and 52 are considered beneficial for spiritual protection and healing. Actually, the entire Qur’an is both a message and object with the potential for protection, guidance, and healing.
Perhaps more familiar are evil eyes, known as nazars, which are talismans or amulets created to ward off an envious or malevolent gaze. They look like fried blue eggs, are often rendered in glass or worn as jewelry, and have become popular worldwide. They even have their own emoji!
For several years, nazars started turning up and became a presence in my life. First, while living in Cairo, I would see them peering from bazaar stalls or nailed over doorways. Later, friends would gift them to me as souvenirs from trips to Istanbul or a neighbor would pass them my way as found treasures from local thrift stores. I ended up with a small collection, some of which I installed around the door to my live-work space in the artists community where I live.
Because of their ubiquitous presence, I was drawn to explore nazars’ deeper meaning and eventually they made their way into my art practice. I referenced their basic blue, black, and white eye iconography for a sculpture project, Minimalist Evil Eyes, and made evil eyes as fabric embellishments on my costume for a performance art project, Evil I Skater. In reflection, I realize that I have been living with and working with nazars as talismanic images and objects.
My “nazar drawings” serve several purposes. The performative act of writing becomes a ritualized zone of contemplation and meditation, which is an end in itself. Repetition of verses 51 and 52 and the hindu-arabic numbers “786” aligns with recitation and chanting practices. Prolonged repetitive verbal utterance are typical to many meditation practices. Scientific studies have demonstrated the benefit of this type of meditation on brain activity. People can reach a state of calm or even euphoria.
The resulting handwritten object itself becomes a talisman, record, and statement of intention. Each written, individual letter contains blessings and benefits for the reader, writer, and audience. I write the hindu-arabic numbers “786” which is an abbreviated symbol. The numbers are a shorthand version of the Qur’anic phrase “bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim,” according to the mystic numerical system of abjad.
Typically, the longhand version of the phrase is written and recited at the beginning of each chapter of Qur’an. “Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim” is a stand-alone phrase said by Muslims at the beginning of any undertaking. The meaning of this Islamic phrase is, “In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and The Most Merciful.” So, each 786 is an invocation of the bismillah. The geometric grids resemble shields, antennas, kites, and blueprints. The grids provide a visual frame for the verses and numbers, which are pre-planned in terms of layout yet intuitively written in the moment.
These prayer-blueprints celebrate my ongoing relationship with the divine text which provides comfort, protection, connection, and a way to navigate daily stresses and traumatic events. The drawings are installed around the outside of my live-work space and are on view for the public during
Developing Environments’ DE@50 event on November 5-6, 2022.
"Nazars," drawing series, Janet Silk, 2022
Bibliography
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© 2022 The Author, Janet Silk.
