Mahir Siraj

And He Was Not

This painting is a visual tale of walking into or out of “the abyss”, in a state of awareness or ignorance, to or from an ephemeral space. Inspired by The Book of Enoch, an apocryphal book, and a canon in the Ethiopic bible that further explores the legend of the biblical character, Enoch. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him...” Genesis 5:24This particular biblical character has been the fascination of many, particularly in the Ethiopic traditions. Although the apocryphal book covers several topics that range from mysticism to astronomy, my painting narrows down the focus to work with the phrase “and he was not,” as it ambiguously hints at finitude and eternity. Hence, I proceeded to create a space that carries such dualities. To create a mythical space with elements of duality, I took a textual reference from The Ethiopic Book of Enoch that discusses this unique character and his experiences in depth. “And Enoch answered and said: (there was) a righteous man whose eyes were opened by the Lord, and he saw a holy vision in the heavens which the angels showed to me. And I heard everything from them, and I understood what I saw, but not for this generation, but for a distant generation which will come. Concerning the chosen I spoke, and I uttered a parable concerning them: The Holy and Great One will come out from his dwelling, and the Eternal God will tread from there upon Mount Sinai, and he will appear with his host, and will appear in the strength of his power from heaven, and all will be afraid, and the Watchers will shake, and fear and great trembling will seize them unto the ends of the earth, And the high mountains will be shaken, and the high hills will be made low, and will melt like wax before the flame.” The Book of Enoch 1:1-6Such and more text from the apocryphal book carries vivid and descriptive narrations, leaving the imagination excited. As a result, creating a sense of a melting mountain in a similar way wax melts became the culminating step of the painting. And if you look at the painting from a further distance or with a squinted eye, it will start to stare back at you.