In this body of work made in response to The Sunderland Collection, Fathi Hassan has worked upon copies of the Collection’s maps in his own cartographic writing. In one such work Fathi has used a facsimile of Cellarius’ Ptolemaic armillary sphere from the Harmonia Macrocosmica of 1661. Fathi has applied his calligraphic script in the shape of a crescent moon - a motif of spiritual significance as well as physical guidance reminding us that maps are not simply devices to physically orientate oneself but that they are also places to explore existential possibilities.
Living with a phobia of flying, the artist has also created a set of four exquisite works in pencil and ink during train journeys. These minutely detailed works feature individuals, animals, and text together with the Arabic words for Illumination, Imagination, Magic and Power.
