LuminousDreaming.net
Laura DuBois

Home

This is a Wedding.
This is a Memorial.

Wedding/Memorial Gallery

The Holy Priestess of Heaven

The Spiral of Time

Shakti Gallery

Mandala Gallery

Resume

Contact

Links

This is a Wedding. This is a Memorial.

a Collaborative Installation by Annamarta Dostourian, Laura DuBois and Richie Pattison.
Shown at SomArts October 14 - November 6, 2004 as a part of their annual Dia de los Muertos exhibit. Offerings of Passion, Miracles, and Peace

In Remembrance

The names of Iraqis who have been killed in the war on Iraq by the USA which began on March 20, 2003 have been taken from the Iraq Body Count web site. (www.iraqbodycount.org) “Recently the British medical journal Lancet estimated that 98,000 Iraqi civilians had died as a result of the invasion and occupation” (SF Chronicle 5/12/05: “Tally of civilian deaths depends on who’s counting” by Jack Epstein and Matthew B. Stannard). In remembrance and honor of these individuals whose names we in the United States do not know, we have so far reproduced “unknown civilian” translated into Arabic, 30,000 times. This may help us to realize the magnitude of the number of Iraqis who have been killed.

Sculptural Forms

There are 3 sculptural forms which evoke the similarity in form of: wedding cakes, Buddhist Stupas, and Sumerian Ziggurats. Stupas are architectural manifestations of the way to Enlightenment, (which is the awareness of the absolute unity of all that appears diverse, the ‘overcoming of illusory contrasts’). The forms of stupas and ziggurats (which are ancient and modern temples) also resemble the round wedding cakes by no mere coincidence. According to Mircea Eliade, historian of religions, in ancient Greek times, the round, white cakes symbolized ‘the whole’. Written in both Arabic and Hebrew on one of the sculptural forms is one of the oldest poems written by humanity; the ancient Sumerian (circa 2000 BC) love poem to ancient moon goddess Inanna. This poem was incised on a cuneiform clay tablets in ancient Sumer. As the US occupies and bombs neighborhoods in the cradle of civilization, and allowed the looting and destruction of ancient artifacts, and contributes to the destruction of the memory of ancient human origins, we remember the glorious civilization of Sumer which is now Iraq.

Projections

Three twelve-pointed stars are projected through everything as a healing, as 12 is the number of petals of the Anahata (Heart) chakra as ancient seers have seen. They represent the awakened heart. May we all awaken and end all war forever.

Collaborative Idea for this particular installation by Annamarta Dostourian and
Laura DuBois.

Original idea of installation was born collaboratively by Annamarta Dostourian and Ilona Sturm.

Many Many Thanks to

Ilana Rosenfeld for translation of The Holy Priestess of Heaven into Hebrew;
Rashed Abualia for translating this ancient poem and Unknown Civilian into Arabic;
Farnaz Shadravan for translating The Holy Priestess of Heaven into Farsi; Jos Sances, Liane Gabora, Andrew Juris, Aaron Lane and Steve and Sazz Culbertson for their great assistance in helping us to obtain these translations. Also thanks to Ilona Sturm; Rene Yanez, Mike Dingle & SomArts crew. PEACE!