Zoe Simon's Portfolio & Blog

The myth of Mohammad’s ascension has spurred on a variety of artistic themes. Perhaps the most mythical of these themes is that of the buraq,  a steed that allows the prophet to transcend into the heavens. The buraq is commonly portrayed with a horse-like body, wings, and humanoid head. The significance of the buraq in Islamic art has inspired me to recreate my own version of the buraq–something I have imagined while reading the story. My interpretation of the buraq is a creature that although horse-like, is never just one animal. For me, it has to be something more complicated than just a horse and more magical than humanoid.

This collage represents that complexity I imagined. By using a fashion magazine, I cut and compiled a horse-shaped buraq with a human head. The cut outs of buildings below the buraq represent the supernatural abilities of the creature. The “textures” of the images I used illustrate the changing animal that I have imagined the buraq to be: there is snake skin, fur, fringe, wool, etc. It is a modern interpretation of the mythical creature and I think this point is particularly important. Instead of following along with past Islamic art interpretations of the buraq, I pulled from today’s media to create a kind of “updated” version.