Dana Awartani is of Palestinian heritage and was raised in Saudi Arabia. Her practice is heavily informed by her knowledge of Islamic geometry and its fusion of art, mathematics and spirituality. Awartani’s installations often begin as geometric drawings made with a ruler and compass, and many of her works focus on handmade materials and collaborations with artisans from South Asia and the Arab world.

In 2019 Awartani commenced a series of adobe-based installations that take their title from the ancient trope of ‘ruin poetry’ (wuquf ‘ala al-atlal), renowned in Arabic culture, in which the poet’s encounter with a ruined site or abandoned settlement triggered a melancholy reflection on loss. Standing by the ruins 2022, displayed for the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial, is the third work in Awartani’s series of the same name and was made in Saudi Arabia. These study drawings reveal the process behind the installation, which was created from 439 handmade adobe bricks that form a refined pattern in six-fold geometry, suggesting abstract flowers, stars and elements from the natural world. For centuries, adobe has been a building material in countries such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and Awartani learnt how to make these bricks directly from artisans whose families have been making them for generations.

In removing their binding element and allowing her bricks to show cracks and fissures, Awartani draws attention to the destruction of cultural heritage through a careful and reverential act of creation and revival.