Ge'ez

Sand, mortar color on canvas.

48x36"

The Ge'ez language is believed by scholars to be one of the oldest languages . Described by some as the father of languages. Ge'ez is an ancient Semitic language that originated in Ethiopia. Ge'ez went extinct as a natural language over 1000 years ago and is no longer spoken as the native tongue of any people but is still used in part of the liturgy in both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches. I made this panel to look like the symbols were scratched onto sandstone. The Adigrat Sandstone formation in north Ethiopia, has a wide array of reddish colours, with coarse to fine grains. It is the rock type used to carve most of the rock-hewn churches in the Tigray region. I created this artwork to look like the symbols were scratched onto that native sandstone.