Al-Mutanabbi Street Project

Pages of Time  Chris Ruston.

Work for this project has now finally been submitted. The books can be seen in the John Rylands Library, Manchester next February along with 130 other responses. The Project has been facilitated by Beau Beausoleil, and Sarah Bodman, and will be touring Britian, America, and Europe over the next two years. A complete set of books by 130 artists will be presented to the National Iraq Library.

Pages of Time comprises three small books, reflecting varying emotions. The Still Hot Air  conveys the shock and pain of the bombing, and of the many lives lost. Adequate words are difficult to find..

Crumbling Pages draws inspiration from Eileen Grace O'Malley Callahans poem, Al- Mutanabbi Street. Eileen has kindly given permission  to use some of her words. Words which like grief over time, can facilitate hope and move us toward process of healing..

Finally The Heart Now Held, evolved from a visit to the British Museum, and the thought about what survives. Ancient cunniform tablets containing the first form of writing, have endured through turbulant times, and still speak to us after hundreds of years. Despite wars and attempts to destroy, it seems to me the human spirit continues to seek ways to endure.

For more infomation visit http://www.al-mutanabbistreetstartshere-boston.com/