الفنان ابراهيم شلبى: Post-Perception in the Arabic Context: Philosophical Roots and Cultural Specificity

Post-Perception in the Arabic Context: Philosophical Roots and Cultural Specificity

Prepared by: Ibrahim Shalabi

Conceptual Artist and Founder of the "Post-Perception" Movement

Introduction: Toward an Arabic Grounding of Contemporary Conceptual Art

The Post-Perception movement represents a contemporary artistic-philosophical experience emerging from an Arabic context, yet it carries universal questions that transcend geographical borders. The specificity of this movement lies not merely in being "Contemporary Arabic Art," but in its ability to summon the Arab-Islamic philosophical heritage and re-read it in light of digital age challenges.

The movement intersects with major inquiries posed by Arab philosophers such as Al-Ghazali (skepticism of the senses), Ibn Sina (levels of perception), Ibn Arabi (transcending intellect toward unveiling/Kashf), and Ibn al-Haytham (scientific analysis of visual perception). These contributions form living philosophical roots that the movement reactivates against contemporary threats: deepfakes, Artificial Intelligence, and the hegemony of the digital image.

This study analyzes the Arabic foundations of the movement and reveals how these philosophies translate into contemporary artistic practice in works such as Adam’s Apple, The Table, and The Conflict of the Two Cows, highlighting the cultural specificity that distinguishes Post-Perception on the global art map.

I. The Need for Arabic Grounding

1.1 The Crisis of Dependency in Contemporary Arabic Art

The contemporary Arabic art scene suffers from a chronic issue: the ready-made importation of Western models—whether modern or postmodern—without a critical grounding that links them to the local cultural context. Critics note that many Arabic experiments suffice with mimicking Western trends, producing "rootless" art incapable of presenting an authentic vision.

Post-Perception offers an alternative model: it emerges from universal questions (the crisis of perception, the dominance of simulation, the erosion of truth) but responds to them by summoning an Arabic philosophical heritage, re-interpreting it through these very questions. The result: global art with local roots, capable of dialogue without losing its identity.

1.2 Why the Arabic Philosophical Heritage?

Arabic philosophy offers unique contributions to the understanding of perception and consciousness:

Early Critique of Senses: Arab philosophers preceded Western thought in questioning sensory credibility (Al-Ghazali preceded Descartes by centuries).
Graduated Model of Perception: Ibn Sina provides an integrated theory starting from the sense and ending at the intellect, recognizing intermediate stages (Imagination, Illusion/Wahm) that play a crucial role in shaping knowledge.
Transcending Intellect to Unveiling: Islamic Sufism (Ibn Arabi) presents a model of knowledge transcending sensory and intellectual perception toward "Kashf" (unveiling) and "Dhawq" (tasting), opening horizons for what can be termed "Beyond Perception."

II. Critique of Senses: Al-Ghazali and Descartes

2.1 Al-Ghazali: The Pioneer of Methodological Doubt

In his book Deliverance from Error, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058–1111) presents his intellectual biography starting with methodological doubt, five centuries before Descartes. Al-Ghazali describes his journey: "I proceeded to acquire certainty... Certainty is that knowledge in which the object is disclosed in such a fashion that no doubt remains... and the possibility of error and illusion does not accompany it."

Al-Ghazali begins by doubting the senses: "I said to myself: My trust is now only in the senses... But I looked at the sense of sight and found it... judging the shadow to be stationary... then by experiment and observation, it is known to be moving."

2.2 Al-Ghazali and Post-Perception: Points of Convergence

Axis	Al-Ghazali	Post-Perception
Critique of Senses	Senses deceive us (mirage, stars, shadow).	Senses are deceptive (visual/auditory contradiction).
Methodological Doubt	Doubt as a gateway to certainty.	Doubt as a permanent cognitive tool.
Transcending Axioms	No trust in sensory axioms.	Destabilizing perceptual axioms.
Ultimate Goal	Spiritual certainty (God).	Critical awareness (Perceptual Immunity).

Artistic Application: In the work This is a Pipe, the viewer is placed in the same state of doubt: Which sense do we believe? Sight or Language?

III. Levels of Perception: Ibn Sina and Internal Powers

3.1 Ibn Sina: Graduated Perception

In The Book of Healing, Ibn Sina (980–1037) presents a theory based on graduation:

Sensory Perception: Receiving data from the external world.
Imaginative Perception: Storing images in the "formative power" (Imagination) without the need for the physical object.
Illusionary Perception (Wahm): Perceiving non-sensory meanings (like "enmity" or "goodness").
Intellectual Perception: Abstracting meanings from matter into "universals."

Artistic Application: In Adam’s Apple, the work does not build knowledge; it deconstructs moral and perceptual certainty.

IV. Transcending Perception: Ibn Arabi and Sufi Unveiling (Kashf)

4.1 Ibn Arabi: Beyond the Intellect

Ibn Arabi (1165–1240) presents a model of knowledge via "Kashf" (unveiling) and "Dhawq" (tasting). He distinguishes between:

Intellect: Restricted, limited, working with premises and conclusions.
Kashf: Direct, intuitive, transcending intermediaries.

Artistic Application: In The Table, the concept resembles "waiting" in Sufism—waiting for a divine flow that does not arrive because time itself is the test. In Post-Perception, the wait remains suspended and open to questioning rather than answers.

V. Scientific Analysis of Perception: Ibn al-Haytham

5.1 Ibn al-Haytham: Pioneer of the Experimental Method

In The Book of Optics, Ibn al-Haytham (965–1040) provided a precise scientific analysis of vision, proving the eye receives light rather than emitting it and demonstrating how vision can be deceived by angles and lighting.

Artistic Application: In the work Deluge of the Drop, these scientific discoveries are translated into a contemporary perceptual experience.

VI. Cultural Specificity in Artistic Works

Adam’s Apple: Uses the Quranic narrative of Adam and Eve as a perceptual laboratory to test the relationship between desire, regret, and free will.
The Conflict of the Two Cows: Critically engages with sacred texts as a medium for perceptual contemplation, revealing how these texts shape our consciousness and conflicts.
The Table: Summoning Quranic references (Surah Al-Ma'idah), transforming them into a universal human condition of "waiting" and "presence vs. absence."
Textual Riddles (Fawazir): Utilizing Arab folk heritage (riddles/puzzles) to create perceptual disruption, breaking the expectations of the collective memory.

VII. Toward an Arabic Philosophy of "Post-Perception"

Comparison with Western Models

Axis	Western Model (Descartes, Kant, Baudrillard)	Arabic Model (Al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, Ibn Arabi)
Critique of Senses	Methodological Doubt (Descartes).	Existential Doubt (Al-Ghazali).
Levels of Perception	From sense to intellect (Kant).	From sense to illusion to intellect (Ibn Sina).
Transcending Perception	Simulation (Baudrillard).	Unveiling and Tasting (Ibn Arabi).
Stance on Heritage	Rupture with the past.	Continuity and Re-interpretation.

VIII. Conclusion: Toward a Global Arabic Art

The Post-Perception movement does not present itself as a substitute for Western philosophies, but as a dialogue with them from a different position. It acknowledges their contribution while summoning a rich Arabic heritage that grants it specificity and authenticity.

As the movement's manifesto states: "In a world where simulation accelerates and truth erodes, art becomes a laboratory for consciousness and a perceptual immunity that reconnects humanity with meaning." This link between heritage and modernity, the local and the global, is what defines Post-Perception as an authentic Arabic movement carrying universal inquiries.

References