In the artists’ words:
When I first began researching motifs for this project, the dragon immediately caught my attention. Unlike many other patterns with fixed meanings, its significance changes depending on its placement on a carpet: if a woman wove a dragon on the side of a rug, it meant she was struggling with an enemy outside her family; if she wove it inside, it meant the enemy was within.
The idea that a motif could serve as a kind of location marker—almost like signaling one’s internal or external battles—felt fascinating to me. It made me think about the nature of struggle itself. In Sufi philosophy, the greatest battle is not the one we fight against external forces but the one we wage within—against our own ego, desires, and fears. This idea deeply resonated with me while composing this piece. Where is the real dragon? Is it an external force, an obstacle in the world around us? Or is it something we carry inside?
Ultimately, events in our lives take meaning based on how we respond to them. The way we react determines where we place them in our personal landscape—whether we see them as threats, lessons, or even opportunities. This piece was written while reflecting on these ideas, exploring the tension between inner and outer struggles and the ever-shifting boundaries between them.
