The Great Mother of Islam – 2014 

The Great Mother of Islam is an immersive architectural textile installation created in collaboration with Iranian miniature painter Leili Tajaddod. Evoking the Ka’aba as a symbolic space of feminine presence and spiritual authority, the work guides viewers through angled thresholds, screen‑printed arches, and life‑size portraits toward a symbolic Black Stone at its core. Twelve hand‑dyed cotton panels—six miniature paintings by Tajaddod and six screen‑printed portraits by Hend Al‑Mansour—depict the Mothers of the Believers, reimagined through Islamic scholarship, women’s historiography, and devotional iconography. Saturated color, sacred architectural motifs, and narrative figuration converge to foreground women’s intellectual, spiritual, and cultural contributions to early Islam. Created at St. Kate Gallery in 2014
Large cube structure draped in black fabric with ornate gold Arabic calligraphy along the top edges, resembling the Ka’aba and displayed in an indoor exhibition space
The Great Mother of Islam, gallery view – 2014 – installation – screen‑printed black fabric – St. Kate Gallery
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The Great Mother of Islam, innermost space – 2014 – installation – cut fabric and papier‑mâché sculpture – St. Kate Gallery
Entrance view of The Great Mother of Islam installation with screen‑printed gold ink on black fabric representing the door of the Ka’aba
The Great Mother of Islam, entrance – 2014 – installation – St. Kate Gallery.
Close‑up of screen‑printed gold ink on black fabric representing the door of the Ka’aba
The Great Mother of Islam, entrance detail.
Facade of the installation with screen‑printed gold ink on black fabric
The Great Mother of Islam, side view – 2014 – installation – St. Kate Gallery.
Inside space with hand‑dyed fabric hangings screen‑printed with portraits of the Mothers of the Believers
The Great Mother of Islam, interior view – 2014 – installation – hand‑dyed fabric hangings screen‑printed with portraits of the Mothers of the Believers – St. Kate Gallery
Close‑up of the hand‑dyed screen‑printed fabric
The Great Mother of Islam, interior detail – 2014 – St. Kate Gallery
Angled interior showing a narrow opening between fabric walls leading to the innermost space
The Great Mother of Islam, view showing the narrow opening leading to the innermost space – St. Kate Gallery
Khadijah pregnant with Fatimah, surrounded by three flowers and a fire halo, screen‑printed on hand‑dyed fabric
The Great Mother of Islam, Khadijah – 2014 – installation – screen‑printed hand‑dyed fabric depicting Khadijah pregnant with Fatimah, framed by floral symbols and a fire halo – St. Kate Gallery.
Hafsah writing Qur’anic text with a quill on parchment
The Great Mother of Islam, Hafsah – 2014 – installation – screen‑printed hand‑dyed fabric depicting Hafsah writing Qur’anic text with a quill on parchment – St. Kate Gallery.
Safiah lighting a menorah with a halo of Jewish motifs behind her
The Great Mother of Islam, Safiah – 2014 – installation – screen‑printed hand‑dyed fabric depicting Safiah lighting a menorah with a halo of Jewish motifs – St. Kate Gallery.
Several thresholds of cut fabric and papier‑mâché sculpture
The Great Mother of Islam, innermost space – 2014 – installation – cut fabric and papier‑mâché sculpture symbolizing the Black Stone – St. Kate Gallery.