“Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?" Siddharta, H.Hesse

 

DABA -  “now” in Morrocan Arabic - is an ode to the present moment, the one we all belong to, and yet which sometimes can feel like it’s slipping away. In DABA, Mezzour explores the connected themes of surrender & timelessness by drawing inspiration from  Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha (1922).

 

In his novel, Hesse compares the course of life to the flow of a river, emphasising how both run continuously, despite opposing currents. My creative process borrows from this idea: to let oneself be carried along by the waves of life, learning to let go of everything that is beyond our control. I am learning to trust the uncontrollable movement of my paintbrush - of the blend made between the ink and the water - just as I'm learning to trust the course of nature.  

Along with this idea of letting go, Siddhartha realizes that time is an illusion by observing how the river is in all places at one time. While the water falls from my paintbrush to the paper, I free herself from time : “Gazing at the water, I observe my own reflection with emotion. Once I plunge myself in it, suddenly the concept of time vanishes. The past and the future lose all substance ; they fade into memories and projections. No more sadness, no more anxiety, only one reality, that is now, that is DABA.” 

 

This series is a gentle invitation to anchor oneself in the present moment and to surrender to life’s unpredictable course.