Minaret
from New Morality
36" x 9.5"
acrylic  on mounted denim
2019
Exhibitions
Houston, Texas, New Morality, September 21-22, 2019
Minaret rises as a vertical triptych of memory, instruction, and invocation—painted on denim and bordered by frayed edges. The title refers to the minaret, a tower in Islamic architecture from which the call to prayer is issued. Traditionally, the minaret is both functional and symbolic: a structure that guides the faithful, marks sacred space, and broadcasts belief across distance.


At the top, a sepia-toned photograph of three individuals evokes mid-century nostalgia. Their presence is quiet, collective, and emotionally resonant. They are not saints—they are witnesses. Their image suggests lineage, memory, and the human scale of belief.


The central panel interrupts with a circular pink graphic: a smiley face surrounded by the phrase “PLEASE BE KIND & REWIND.” A relic of VHS culture, the message is both literal and moral. It’s a behavioral command wrapped in politeness—a secular mantra of courtesy and repetition. In the context of New Morality, it becomes a modern echo of religious instruction: kindness as ritual, rewinding as reflection.


At the base, black Arabic script floats across a blue field. The text is stylized, sacred, and visually rhythmic. Whether read or unread, it signals a system of belief—a moral architecture encoded in language. Like the minaret’s call to prayer, it is both seen and heard, both visual and sonic.


Painted on denim, the work resists sanctity. The frayed edges and hanging threads suggest wear, labor, and cultural residue. Denim becomes a secular canvas for sacred layering. Minaret becomes a vertical meditation on how morality is transmitted—through memory, signage, and sacred text. It asks: what calls us to attention? What guides our behavior? What echoes across time?


Minaret signals. A moral tower of witness, rewind, and invocation.