Xees iyo Xees
— 2018
“Have you not considered your Lord— how He extends the shadow,
and if He willed, He could have made it stationary?
Then We made the sun for an indication.”
— Al-Furqan/The Criterion, Qur’an, Sign 45.
Xees iyo Xees, 2018, explores the shadow as a resting place away from the hot sun, a vessel at night and an indication for the daily prayers. Kaamil’s work references repetitions and motifs such as shadows found throughout our daily lives. During his recent visit to Mogadishu, Kaamil was captivated by the recurrences of shadows on the walls of masjids, houses, shops and rooftops against the city’s bright colors.
Xees iyo Xees captures impressions of shadow cast on a chamber-like section on the wall of masjid Darul Quba. The scheme, schedule and the impermanence of the shadow is revealed through the use of color on the wall. Xees iyo Xees renders both of these separate, yet joined, repeated entities visible; hence, the shadow becomes a criterion for what was and what is to come.
