Joumana Medlej
Oxford
Artist-scholar from Beirut, now based in Oxford, working with forgotten Arabic scripts and historical/natural art technology.
Message
Joumana Medlej is an artist-scholar from Lebanon, working at the intersection of creation and research. After an early career in graphic design and illustration, she found her vocation for the Kufi scripts during the years she assisted master Samir Sayegh in his Beirut studio. She went on to specialise in this early calligraphic tradition, from which she derives the visual language of her contemporary art practice. She also forged for herself an expertise in the art technology of the medieval Middle East. Having abandoned synthetic colours, Joumana prepares her own inks and paints based on historical methods and local foraging. Drawing on her practitioner’s experience, she translates medieval Arabic inkmaking handbooks into English to bring the voices of past masters to a general audience.
Joumana is now based in Oxford, UK. Her wall pieces and artist books can be found in private and public collections from California to the Middle East. She teaches Kufi calligraphy at the Arab British Centre and has lectured at Stanford University, Oxford, Cambridge, the Gulbenkian Foundation, the School of Traditionals Arts and other institutions. She’s collaborated on educational projects with the Aga Khan Museum and the Goethe Institut, and has done work for the Royal Mint, Apple, Amnesty, BBC Arabic. She’s authored and published books on art technology (Inks & Paints of the Middle East, 2020; Wild Inks & Paints, 2021) and on forgotten aspects of the Arabic script (Stories of Abjad, 2023).
Statement
The seeds of my art practice were planted in darkness. My childhood was defined by war; I escaped by turning inwards. In the inner worlds I found timeless order, permanence and meaning beyond the chaos, destruction and noise. Now, all of my work is a striving to bring a little of this reality through into our increasingly brittle and muddled world.
In this spirit, rigorous research underlies everything I create: the scripts, materials, themes I use, all have deep roots in the ancestral knowledge I bring back to light.
My visual language is derived from the Kufi scripts, the earliest tradition of Arabic calligraphy, which few can read today. Composed of pure meaning that doesn’t give itself away, the work bypasses the mind to engage a deeper recognition, and holds the viewer in contemplation.
The materials and techniques I use are varied, but all prioritise sustainability and respect for the living world. I no longer use industrial colours, instead hand-preparing paint, dyeing paper, and even foraging for materials. In this way I’m part of a complete creative process that begins with raw gifts from the Earth and ends in an art object: the alchemy of transforming matter for the sake of Beauty.
Wall pieces are only one of three threads in my body of work. With my Artist Books, I take art off the wall to tell more complex stories that unfold in multiple, tactile dimensions. My Treasure Boxes involve all the senses along with non-linear storytelling; in their context, objects we consider trivial become centres of meaning, their simple beauty revealed. But while the boxes hint at a story, they never actually tell: the tension between not-knowing and longing-to-know is held, the sense of mystery preserved.