Mercury on Wednesday 

Sound Installation

Zurich, Switzerland 2019

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The historical foundations of sorcery in Islam were built in three stages.  Original Arabia provided the usual magical tools for protection, healing, and divination which were integrated and legitimized by the Islamic institution.  From the 9-10th centuries onwards, the introduction and domination of Hellenistic (Greco-Irano-Indian) esoteric thought disrupted the general frameworks of magic intervention: astrological determinations had dominated in the conception and elaboration of talismanic practices. Severely shaken by the Hellenistic offensive, Islam gradually reacted and, as far as witchcraft was concerned, focused its efforts on the condemnation and elimination of the astrological framework and on its replacement by intrinsically Islamic elements. Conceptually, the notion of sihr (witchcraft), condemned religiously, is still an activity active because of a total lack of definition and delimitation. 

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Mercury on Wednesday is a simulation space based on an old paper found in the book ‘The Sun of a Great Knowledge’ by Al’ama Abi El-Abas Al-Bony in the 13th century AD. What is really interesting is the contents of the drawings about the Angel Michael who is responsible for the discharge of wind directions and the plants on the earth, he is the king of Mercury, and Wednesday day, people who want to call him and his followers should follow some instructions.

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"Shams al-Ma'arif al-Kubra" (The Great Sun of Gnosis) is one of the most important works of Al'ama Abi El-Abas Al-Bony (also known as Al-Buni), a medieval Arab scholar and expert in Islamic law, Sufism, and esotericism. The book is a comprehensive guide to the esoteric knowledge of the Islamic tradition and is considered one of the most influential works on Islamic occultism.

 

The book is divided into 25 chapters and covers a wide range of topics including numerology, astrology, magic, the interpretation of dreams, and the use of talismans. It also provides instructions on how to create and use talismans, as well as various other methods of obtaining spiritual and mystical knowledge.

 

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"Shams al-Ma'arif al-Kubra" is written in Arabic and was completed in the 13th century. It has since been translated into several languages, including Persian and Turkish, and has been widely read and studied by scholars of Islamic mysticism and occultism.

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The book has been a source of controversy among Islamic scholars, with some arguing that it contains unorthodox and even heretical teachings. Nevertheless, it remains an important text for those interested in the esoteric traditions of Islam and is regarded as a key text in the history of Islamic occultism.

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Mercury on Wednesday, representing the instructions in a contemporary theory based on that paper by composing a soundtrack based on the Arabic vocabulary reputation of the text into sound waves.