Studio Diary: Dream of Petra
Some paintings arrive clearly.
Others reveal themselves slowly.
Dream of Petra began as an abstract response to memory, landscape, and the emotional weight of ancient places. As the layers developed, hidden forms started emerging through the surface, fragments of calligraphy, excavation-like markings, pathways, shifting architecture, and mountain silhouettes resembling an eagle’s head.
Rather than painting Petra directly, I wanted the work to feel like a remembered dream of Petra, part memory, part imagination, part emotional landscape.
The layered textures and earthy tones were intentionally built gradually, allowing certain elements to disappear and re-emerge depending on light and distance.
What interests me most is how viewers begin discovering their own meanings inside the work.
This piece is part of my Held by the Desert collection, exploring memory, resilience, silence, and place through layered symbolic landscapes.
Selected works from this evolving series were recently featured as part of the set styling for the upcoming production Black Snow.
Hala Kattab
Resilience Through Art
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