I will not leave the horse alone

Paintings by Qais Al Sindy

Artist Statement

I was inspired by the famous poem “The Eternity of Cactus” by the great Mahmoud Darwish to create this project. The poem is about forced displacement.

The idea of leaving is as old as mankind. Human beings have always been on the move to find a better life and a better place. However, when forced to leave, a person would leave a part of himself behind. There are things inside us we can only find again by returning. It is difficult to leave a place where you lived and loved and where all your memories are buried deep...it is hard to leave your home.

The Horse portrayed in this poem is one of the inhabitants of the house. It was left there to keep the house's company, but the owner of the horse will return to his house and will not leave it nor his Horse alone.

In this exhibition, I depicted many horses in various motions. They reveal their inner feelings by being left unaccompanied by their owners. Here, the horses feel their new responsibility to take care of the trusteeship, to accompany the homes of their owners, to guard them and to keep life inside. In this project, I have attempted to find the other side of these horses. Their power lies in the wisdom found in remembering their journeys as a whole. Inevitably, the horse symbolizes that all pathways have equal validity. Keeping this in mind will grant insight into the power and glory of a united family and humanity. Every human being must follow a pathway of empowerment before galloping on the wings of destiny. The destiny here is to return home.                                                           

 Qais Al Sindy

The Eternity of Cactus 
-Where are you taking me, Father?
-To the side of the wind, my son.

... And as they depart from the plain, the plain
Where Bonaparte's troops raised a hill to watch over
The shadows on the ancient wall of Akka -
The father says to his son: Do not fear. Do not
Fear the bullet's hiss! Cling
To the earth to survive! We will survive, and we will climb
To the top of some northern mountain, and we will return
When the soldiers go back to their faraway folk.

-And who will live in the house after us, Father?
-It will remain as it is now, my son!

He felt for the house key as if he was touching
His limbs, and was comforted. And he said to the boy,
As they crossed a fence of thorns:
My son, remember! In this place the English crucified
Your father on the thorns of a cactus for two nights,
And he confessed to nothing. You will grow older, O
My son, and you will tell the tale to those who inherit the rifles,
The tale of blood on steel.

-Why have you left the horse alone?
-To keep the house company, my son,
For houses die when their inhabitants are gone.

Eternity opens its gates from afar
For the carriage of night. From the wasteland, wolves howl
To a frightened moon.
And the father says to his son: Be strong like your grandfather!
And climb with me this final hill of oaks.
My son, remember: Here the Janissaries fell
From their war-horses, so stand fast with me
So that we may return home.

-When, Father?
-Tomorrow. Probably two days from now, my son.

And it was a fickle tomorrow, gnawing the wind
Behind them on those cold winter nights.
And the armies of Yehusha ibn Nun were building
Their strongholds with the stones of the house.
And as the two of them stood panting on the road to Cana:

Here
Our Lord passed long ago.
Here
He made the water wine. And he gave many sermons
On love. O my son, remember
Tomorrow.
And remember the Crusader forts
Devoured by April grasses, after
The soldiers departed.
Mahmoud Darwish

Click on thumbnails to view each painting

Prices upon request. To purchase this artwork, contact dagmar.painter.curator@gmail.com