Love is the only flower
By: Sarah Lewtas ; translation of names, May Alkazaz
Contributors: Mutanabbī, Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn, 915 or 916-965, poet; Alkazaz, May, translator; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
Publisher: [Sarah Lewtas]
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Wexford, Ireland?]
Language: ara
Subjects: Violence; Pictorial works; Booksellers and bookselling; Bombings; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Protest movements; Books and reading in art; Intellectual life; Social conditions; Censorship; Terrorism in art; In art; War and civilization; Vehicle bombs; Visual literature; Specimens; Wild flowers in art; Nature; Artists' books; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Description: This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

"It's been observed in recent discussions that my work focuses on nature and death and it's true I am interested in nature, and I use remains and natural forms in my work; but what I search for is more the echo or essence of these things. I try to create some sense of presence in the individual works and bring them together to see what they have to say to each other. I've recently been drawn towards botanical studies; I began making drawings on residencies in Georgia and Portugal. The different atmosphere of these locations; natural political and emotional seems to be concentrated in these quiet life forms. I've joined the Irish Society of Botanical Artists to explore the traditional practice of Botanical Art, and to enjoy the experience of working with other botanical artists. I hope to develop something that reflects the sentient nature of plants; such artists as Thornton or Mapplethorpe inspire me. I continue with my multi-disciplined installation pieces, the main focus of my work"--Statement from artist's website (viewed June 30, 2015).
Notes: Printed in a numbered edition of 3.

"'Love is the only flower' is made from a selection of wild flowers drawn in various locations during recent years, ranging from my home in Ireland, to residencies in Portugal and Georgia. There is something fragile about wild flowers and their persistence often in the most hostile of environments. The translucence of the Japanese paper adds to their fragility; I've made the covers in funereal white and hand written (rather badly, I fear) in Arabic, the names of the 30 recorded victims of the Al Mutanabbi bombing. My thanks to Beau Beausoleil for forwarding May Alkazaz's translation"--The Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website.

"Cover design taken from Cahier de Calligraphie by Salah Moussawy in the Diwani style"--Colophon.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi Street is located in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, holds bookstores and outdoor bookstalls, cafes, stationery shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. It has been the longstanding heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community for centuries. In response to the attack, a San Francisco poet and bookseller, Beau Beausoleil, rallied a community of international artists and writers to produce a collection of letterpress-printed broadsides (poster-like works on paper), artists' books (unique works of art in book form), and an anthology of writing, all focused on expressing solidarity with Iraqi booksellers, writers and readers. The coalition of contributing artists calls itself Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition.

Gift; Beau Beausoleil; 2019-2020.

Primarily in Arabic, with French quotes.