The Right to Wonder (2026)
Black velvet, sea salt from Qurrayat, Oman,
internally illuminated curved table (400 × 50 cm)
Commissioned by the Media Majlis Museum, Northwestern University in Qatar, for the exhibition What's Between, Between? (Spring 2026).
The Right to Wonder was inspired by the community stargazing events organized by Palestinian astrophysicist Dr. Suleiman Baraka in Gaza. By inviting children and families to observe the night sky, these gatherings created moments of curiosity and shared learning in the midst of conflict.
Rather than depicting war itself, the installation reflects on what it takes away: imagination, freedom, and the simple act of looking toward the sky. It responds to a reality in which a telescope can be treated as a threat rather than an instrument of curiosity.
Black velvet, sea salt from Qurrayat, Oman,
internally illuminated curved table (400 × 50 cm)
Commissioned by the Media Majlis Museum, Northwestern University in Qatar, for the exhibition What's Between, Between? (Spring 2026).
The Right to Wonder was inspired by the community stargazing events organized by Palestinian astrophysicist Dr. Suleiman Baraka in Gaza. By inviting children and families to observe the night sky, these gatherings created moments of curiosity and shared learning in the midst of conflict.
Rather than depicting war itself, the installation reflects on what it takes away: imagination, freedom, and the simple act of looking toward the sky. It responds to a reality in which a telescope can be treated as a threat rather than an instrument of curiosity.
Using sea salt collected from Qurrayat, Oman, Ali creates a constellation that exists not in the sky but on the ground. The salt carries traces of the sea, creating a
dialogue between Oman and Gaza. Drawing on the symbolism of stars in Islamic cosmology as signs of guidance and divine presence, the work reflects on childhood, absence, and the right to dream.
A small platform invites visitors to physically adopt the posture of someone looking through a telescope. Instead of looking up, they are asked to look down at a salt constellation that extends into an endless reflection. Set within an enclosed, darkened space, the installation juxtaposes infinity with confinement, inviting reflection on what it means when the freedom to look up is denied. The Right to Wonder asks us to see imagination not as an escape from reality, but as something worth protecting.
An accompanying essay by Dr. Suleiman Baraka for ‘The Right to Wonder’ can be read here.
A small platform invites visitors to physically adopt the posture of someone looking through a telescope. Instead of looking up, they are asked to look down at a salt constellation that extends into an endless reflection. Set within an enclosed, darkened space, the installation juxtaposes infinity with confinement, inviting reflection on what it means when the freedom to look up is denied. The Right to Wonder asks us to see imagination not as an escape from reality, but as something worth protecting.
An accompanying essay by Dr. Suleiman Baraka for ‘The Right to Wonder’ can be read here.