21 Stones series; No. 1, No.2, No. 3, No. 8, No. 11, No. 17 and No.19

A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, Idris Khan is known for his photographic palimpsests of texts and places, the repeated layering of image over image complicating any one reading, denying words their original emotive power as they become patterns across a surface. In his series 21 Stones, Khan extends this interest in layering and turning words and statements into visual patterns. These drawings were exhibited in The DevilÂ’s Wall, an exhibition inspired by KhanÂ’s fatherÂ’s experience of the Hajj. The power of these works rests in their multiple readings. Created using repeatedly stamped statements, both personal and from the QurÂ’an, they resemble a creative outburst as well as a repeated, meditative mantra.