A Garden of Roses
The Project will attempt to depict a rose garden displayed in the form of a giant rose with walkways that will be bursting on either side with fabric roses made from recycled material; each rose representing a child who has died – their name and age will be written on a note tied around the stem of their flower.
In the Formation of a Giant Rose
The roses will be placed in a formation which when seen from above will appear like one giant rose. We will make a range of semi-circular polyurethane foam structures to act as flower beds of different sizes which will be placed to make the shape of a large rose, but with breaks in between so it will not be a maze but a free area to walk around.
Please note the image Fig.1 below of a rose outline below – each of the black lines seen in the image will be one of the structures mentioned above, and the white areas will be where the public can walk, leading them to the center of the rose – see Fig 2 (a) and (b) which are both outlines of what the structures full of roses would look like from above and Fig 3 which shows what the whole rose would look like full of different coloured fabric flowers.
Please note the images
Fig 1. Rose outline
Fig 2. Rose Hand-drawn Outline
Fig 3.
The Number of Roses
We shall be making a total of 15,000 fabric roses which reflects the figure given by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2024, that the total number of children killed in Gaza is estimated to be over 15,000.
Examples of fabric roses made by women artisans of Labour & Love are shown in the images – see Figs.4-9.
The Project is also one of sustainability as all flowers are being made from discarded fabric and old clothing so each one is different and unique, much the same way that each of these 15,000 children were.
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- Fig 4
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- Fig 5
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- Fig 6
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- Fig 7
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- Fig 8
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- Fig 9
Unifying into a Red Rose
The viewer will be overwhelmed with the variety of different colours and textures they can see- just like each of those 15,000 children who were unique little human beings, each with their own skin, hair and eye colour, height, shape, size, likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams. Red tinted fairy lights shall be placed amongst the fabric roses so that in darkness the entire rose will glow red, just like the Rosette Nebula (see below at Fig.7) shining bright in the universe (see section below on Symbolism).
The viewer will be reminded that each and everyone of us make up the fabric of life, we are all a part of humanity and when we come together we shine at our most brilliant and beautiful. See Fig.8 below.
Voices of Gaza
The audio installation will immerse visitors in the sounds of everyday life in Gaza before the conflict. Featuring voices of those who have left Gaza and journalists who have covered the conflict, this auditory experience will weave together memories of a time when Gaza was full of life and joy.
The sounds of children playing, birds singing, and trees rustling in the wind will provide a stark contrast to these stories of love, reminiscence and fondness for a place the Gazans called home.
Memories of Gaza
The visual component will present a photoscape of Gaza’s beautiful homes, playgrounds, schools, and joyful children before the violence. These images will remind the audience of the humanity behind the numbers—the individual stories and futures that are affected.
In addition, once the Project has been completely installed, students will be given colourful fabric kites and shall be invited to run around the installation with them. This will all be recorded on video and this video footage will be played in the room on the surrounding wall(s) whilst poems by Palestinian poets can be heard in the background:
Fragrance of Roses
The installation area will be regularly sprayed with the perfume of roses/rose water which will add to the sensory feeling of being in a rose garden.
Memories of Gaza
Symbolism
These roses reflect the diversity of mankind and the beauty of unity forming into one gigantic rose. Working with discarded material and turning it into beautiful perfect roses was intentional as it represents the people of Gaza whose rights have been ignored, neglected and forgotten by the entire world, cast aside for over 70 years – yet each one of them is a perfect rose blooming in the garden of humanity.
It is true that human beings flourish when they feel heard – just like these discarded fabrics only look beautiful when they are cleaned up and supported with stitches to give them the structure and grace of a beautiful rose.
Furthermore, by making our roses from different coloured and textured fabrics, we actually reflect the diversity of creation and the beauty of unity (forming one giant rose that glows red in the darkness) amidst diversity in mankind.
In nature, roses come in a diverse array of colours, each having its own unique appeal and allure, just like the Project which will display a variety of different coloured fabric roses, each of them unique in themselves, their fabric folds lovingly stitched together to give them form.
Roses hold a special place in many religions, particularly in the Islamic culture and tradition where they are quite literally blooming with symbolism:
- Roses symbolise God’s infinite beauty – their beautiful scent representing the gentle fragrance of His presence. Children are the most beautiful of all God’s creation as their beauty has an innocence and purity about it. It is therefore apt that they are represented by roses.
- Roses are seen as a symbol of paradise in both the Quran and the Hadiths – they are associated with the beauty and allure of paradise, the rose being seen as a flower of heaven. Children are innocent and therefore they belong in heaven just like the rose.
- Roses are seen in the Sufi tradition as a metaphor for the spiritual journey of the soul seeking union with the Beloved, God. The roses in our garden can be seen as our sacred farewell to all these children as they continue on with their spiritual journey to meet the One..
- The fragrance of the rose is known to uplift spirits and provide comfort – its fragrance symbolising the influence of righteous deeds and kind actions which are said to be fragrant to God. Our roses, seen as the souls of all these children, send a spiritual message to us all that they are safe in the heavens, close with the Beloved, and that we must not forget them.
The 55th Surah of the Quran, Surah Ar-Rehman, speaks about God’s graciousness and mercy and repeatedly asks the reader “which of the favours of the Lord will you deny?”, a rhetorical question that is asked again and again when marvelling at the various creations of God. It is in this vein that it mentions in Verse 37 a red rose:
“Fa-izan shaqqatis samaaa’u fakaanat wardatan kaddihaan”,
which when translated into English means:
“When the sky will split asunder and will glow like the red rose”[1], or
“And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-coloured like oil”[2];
or “And when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like red hide[3]
- [1] Al’Quran translated by Abdul Hameed Aliani
- [2] Translation by Sahih International
- [3] Translation by Pickthal
The general consensus by religious scholars was that this verse signified the end of the world, when the sky will split into two and turn red. However, recently there are many scholars that now look to this verse as evidence of the accuracy of the Quran, as this description fits perfectly with the discovery of a red rose shape in the Rosette Nebula, identified as cluster NGC2244, which was photographed by the Chandra X Observatory mission by NASA in 1999-2000.
The “Rosette Nebula” is a type of nebula consisting of clouds of gas and dust in space, formed by the release of gas from large stars. It is estimated to be 130 light years in diameter and five times bigger than the full moon. It is a beautiful example of stars and gases coalescing to form a celestial body in the shape and colour of a crimson rose- see Fig 9 above. As stated above, verse 37 is regarded by many as a testament of the accuracy of the Quran’s description of what is in the heavens – something we never knew until only very recently.
This giant rose that we will create down on Earth which will glow red in the dark can be interpreted as mirroring the Rosette Nebula high above in the heavens, which burns crimson red like a rose. The clouds of gas in the nebula that are made from stars is the same matter that we, human beings are made of – most of the elements of our human bodies were formed in stars over the course of billions of years and multiple star lifetimes.
On Earth, each of the 15,000 children will be represented by a glowing red rose, but up in the sky, possibly at one of the gateways or portals into heaven, we can imagine each of the 15,000 children represented as sparkling stars swirling around the Rosette Nebula taking their place in the grand rose of humanity and dancing in the magic of the universe.