Karma

“We need a huge Kharazeh Zar’aa (Evil Eye) for this year and this Pandemic! Who has been cursing us?!” My sons gave me a puzzled look as I was mumbling those words while watching the news. I explained to them that “In our culture, if someone gives you a spiteful or a vicious glare out of envy, it brings misfortune and bad luck. This curse can be reversed, and people protected themselves from it by wearing ‘The Evil Eye’ as jewelry or a charm.” “When the baby is first born, a small amulet with the blue evil eye is usually attached to the crib and a small charm is pinned on the garments to safeguard it. Almost every Levantine household carries an ornament that is believed will protect them against the curse caused by this malicious glare. My husband then added “some people have sight, but other people have vision, even though they are both linked to the eye, they are totally different. Individuals either use their eyes to observe and detect who gave them the evil look while others use them to see the future.”

During this conversation, ideas started flowing in my head leading me to the concept of creating a painting about the superstition of the Evil Eye and the reality of the vision.

The quarantine was the best time to separate between the people who have sight and who have vision. I used the gift of time experimenting and created a talisman, the new collection: “Karma,” to reverse the curse and protect against “The Evil Eye” and “The Syndrome of Visionless Sight”, that could be the reason for the harm and misfortune we experience nowadays.