Fragment No. 16

I believe that fragment number 16 is a magic carpet — one that can carry you to a future without wars, hunger, oppression, discrimination, or environmental destruction.

As a teenager, I wanted to be a poet but eventually became a visual artist. While my drawings and paintings are full of text, I didn’t want to juxtapose the fragment’s intricate pattern and colors with the consumer imagery I use in my work. Instead, I wrote a poem — the first I’ve ever published.

Flying carpets have appeared throughout history and across cultures: in traditional Chinese fantasy, Hebrew legends, One Thousand and One Nights, Russian folk tales, and even Mark Twain’s short stories. They symbolize freedom, imagination, and the ability to transcend the impossible.

Let this fragment of the Dragon Carpet serve as a reminder that culture connects us all. May it carry a small thread of hope to help weave peace into these dark times.