Floating Flames 11

The work unfolds as a ritual of gathering. Figures bend, reach and turn toward one another, their gestures creating an intimate choreography of exchange. Flowers and vessels appear almost as offerings, lending the scene a quiet ceremonial quality. Moualla works against the permanence of the image. Ink and mixed media are drawn across fragile, crumpled paper, then interrupted through burning and cutting. Bodies are simultaneously constructed and eroded; scorched openings become part of their anatomy, allowing absence to inhabit the composition. Suspended without a backing, the work changes with its surroundings. Light, shadow and the space behind it become part of the image, transforming a gathering of figures into something more elusive—a meditation on presence, vulnerability and what remains when parts of a story have disappeared.