Shingle-Mihrab
Mihrab installation, carpets, permanent structure (2012)
Commissioned by the Municipality of Altach, AT
The Shingle Mihrab (Prayer Space at the Islamic Cemetery, Altach) project includes the Qibla wall and carpets in the prayer space of the Islamic Cemetery Altach in Austria. The project symbolically connects different cultures in Vorarlberg through the combination of local materials with formal references to Islamic religious architecture. The cemetery is the first of its kind in the region. Located in the municipality of Altach, it serves more than 95 different Islamic communities. The cemetery project was designed by the Vorarlberg architect Bernardo Bader and I was commissioned to create the artwork in the prayer space. My work on this site was guided by the idea that Muslim immigrants in Vorarlberg would see the cemetery as a testament to the fact that Austria was their homeland and the place where their dead rested.
The Qibla wall is composed of three curtains made of stainless-steel mesh carrying an array of wooden shingles arranged so as to give an impression of the mihrab. The perception of the Qibla wall changes depending on the physical relation of the visitors to the structure. From the entrance, the wall appears like a wooden shingle wall, which is a reference to the local architectural tradition in Vorarlberg. The shingles are directed toward Mecca, indicating the prayer direction. Moving toward the curtain, it starts to appear animated. When the visitor stands still and looks toward Mecca, the appearance of the wall becomes static, supporting a focus on prayer. Because the shingles are positioned orthogonally to the window, the view to the outside—the surrounding park—is never blocked, thus symbolically emphasizing the interpretation of mihrab as a gateway to the afterlife. At eye level, some shingles are arranged so as to create the inscription “Allah” and “Muhammad” in Kufic script. Six prayer rugs in different shades of beige/brown indicate the prayer rows (saff), while granting the appearance of more depth in prayer space. The color gradient of the carpets is brighter in the direction of Mecca, setting a symbolic emphasis on the direction of prayer and the purity of the prayer space. The carpets (kilim) were hand woven in a workshop in Sarajevo by women who were victims of the 1990s war in Bosnia.
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Project commissioned by the Municipality of Altach as “Percentage for the Arts” project within the Islamic Cemetery Altach by Bernardo Bader, Altach.
Materials: Stainless steel mesh curtains, wooden shingles, new wool hand-woven carpets (flat-weave)
Dimensions: Curtains 300 x 300 x 290 cm; Carpets: 600 x 100 x 110 cm
Concept and design: Azra Akšamija
Research: Dietmar Offenhuber (conceptual contributions), Bernardo Bader (materials)
Production: Eva Grabherr (project management and mediation), Attila Dincer (spokesperson of the Islamic Community in Vorarlberg); Bernardo Bader (architecture of the cemetery and implementation); Thomas Marte (construction manager); Eberle Metall (metal work and shingles); Amila Smajović and the Association For The Protection Of The Bosnian Carpet (carpet weaving)
Financing: Municipalities and the Regional Government of Vorarlberg, Land Vorarlberg, donations of the Islamic Communities of Vorarlberg
Photographs: Adolf Bereuter
Also see: “Islamic Cemetery Altach, Austria,” in Architecture of Life: Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013, edited by Mohsen Mostafavi, 198–215. Zurich: Lars Muller Publishers, 2013.