Islam Aly

Scroll of Stars
2024, Edition of 40 variants and five proofs.

Box size: 3.5 x 3.5 x 14”, Scroll size: 8.5 x 77 ” Cloth-covered box. Cyanotypes on fabric, sewn on cotton cloth. Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist. 

Scroll of Stars is a scroll-based artist’s book that explores the connection between dreams, protective symbolism, and celestial constellations, tracing how visual language can bridge the spiritual and physical realms.

The scroll is composed of individual cyanotype-printed fabric patches, each one featuring sacred invocations, mystical symbols, seal markings, magic squares, and celestial references. These patches are carefully sewn together into a continuous strip, forming a tactile, flowing surface that invites intimate engagement. The act of stitching echoes practices of care, repair, and ritual embedded in textile traditions.

Housed in a custom-designed box, the scroll is paired with a cover inspired by celestial maps and sacred texts. This enclosure shows the piece’s ritualistic nature, encouraging viewers to slowly unroll the work, as if revealing a protective incantation or cosmic script one fragment at a time.