The prayer rugs are angled towards the Qibla (the direction of the Kaba in Saudi Arabia, the holy site of pilgrimage for Muslims). This direction serves as a spiritual function of the medium and material. The experiential medium connects to being raised Muslim in a home filled with religious practices and with growing up with persian carpets, lush curtains, and ornately embroidered Indian and Islamic geometric tapestry. The shapes and physical material of fabric reference traditional prayer rugs. 

‘Khamsa’ meaning ‘five’ representing the hand and its five fingers, also known as ‘The Hand of Fatima’. It is a traditional North African and Middle Eastern symbol that wards off the evil eye, and unwanted spirits. Intersecting with this installation “Khamsat al Bahar” means Five or Protector of the Sea. This piece pays homage to the many Black Beings who in resistance to enslavement and captivity jumped overboard while trafficked across the Atlantic. In essence, we Black people are of the Sands, and of the Seas.