Palestine in Green

An admirer of Constantin Brancusi, like his works, the stone sculptures of Mona Saudi simultaneously evoke the timeless and the modern.
Saudi uses stones primarily sourced from the Middle East: green marble from Jordan (which she calls Jordanian jade), veined rocks from the beaches of Aqaba, pink limestone from Irbid. She likes to quote the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, From stone we will build a state of lovers.
The two pieces included here are both carved from this Jordanian jade, a layered stone with striking contrasts between the different levels. Saudi handles the stone like a painter in reverse, removing layers to free the various colours beneath with startling results.