Statera, Mizan.

Cairo, Egypt:: Islam Aly,, 2020.. Edition of 30 varianst + 5 AP. Closed: 3.5 x 3.5 x 2.75". Materials: Legal ledger paper from the late 1800s and 1900s, museum board, hand-printed Arabic letters from magnesium plates, laser-engraved wooden boards, book cloth, stiff-leaf binding with leather wrappings connected to laser engraved camel bone pieces. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist Islam Aly: "Statera" explores the rhombic dot system behind the Thuluth script. An Arabic, elegant, cursive writing that is used on architectural monuments and manuscripts. In Arabic, this system is called "Mizan Al Horof" (balance of letters). "Statera" shows each letter's specific structure, which is built of a significant rule: the number of dots. The 28 letters are printed in Thuluth script with vibrant red color, over regular handwritten text by ordinary people. Different styles, signatures, seals, notes, and markings from legal ledger paper contrast with the Thuluth script rules. This contrast reveals an engaging perspective hidden between the balanced letters and aged documents. The fourteen rhombus pieces of camel bone are engraved with a letter on each side, echoing the book's interior.