'The text here is from a pre-Islamic poet, Abu Zu'aib Al-Huzali which speaks of his life and loves. The cardboard comes from a torn-up box of books' Photograph: Adonis
'This text is part of a love poem. It’s one of a series of rakaim using my own poems for a book which I’m putting together at the moment' Photograph: Adonis
'This is the only collage in the exhibition where I've used black ink. It's a text from the 8th century – another beautiful love poem – this time by Bashar ibn Burd, one of the founders of Arab modernity at that time. He was killed by the Caliph after he was accused of being irreligious' Photograph: Adonis
'This is the only rakima where I've used a photograph. It's a young woman protesting against the wall in Palestine. The text is an assemblage of pre-Islamic writings which speak of peace and against oppression' Photograph: Adonis
'Here the marks are an imitation of calligraphy. It's not a real text, just a game with letters – the skin of words, but not the words themselves' Photograph: Adonis
