BARZAKH invites artists and writers to submit works responding to the theme 'A Return Aflame', exploring the hidden self, refuge, and transformation. Open to all disciplines: visual art, sound, writing, and mixed media. No AI-generated work accepted. Selected works will be featured in BARZAKH’s first online e-zine with an accompanying interview.

BARZAKH is a genderless avant-garde jewelry brand based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

For the first edition of BARZAKH’s e-zine, we invite artists, writers, and creatives across disciplines to respond to the theme of our upcoming collection: 'A Return Aflame'.

THEME

This issue delves into the metaphysical cycle of becoming through refuge - the act of seeking shelter not within, but beyond the self.

It contemplates the birth of the hidden self, a being not buried within us but orbiting around our existence - an astral counterpart, a celestial double that calls us home.

In this vision, refuge is a celestial return:

If the hidden self is not inside, then to seek refuge in it is not to retreat inward, but to ascend outward, to meet the distant, eternal “other.”
A pilgrimage around one’s own essence.
A reunion with the divine stranger.

This concept draws from Gnostic and Sufi metaphysics, where the soul, or 'ruh', is seen as a spark estranged from its source, yearning for reunion.

The hidden self is not a shadow beneath, but a body beyond. It seeks us as much as we seek it.

SOME KEY PHRASES TO CONSIDER

eternal flesh - birth into paradox - umbilical - limbo haze - half light - swell of hunger - safe haven - eternal - birth - transformation

WHO CAN APPLY

We welcome submissions from artists working in:

• Painting
• Printmaking
• Photography
• Wearable art
• Video art
• Sound art
• Sculpture
• Poetry
• Prose (max. 300 words)
• Digital art
• Mixed media

No AI-generated work will be accepted.
WHAT TO SUBMIT

• 1 final artwork responding to the theme
• Title and description of the work
• Art statement (max. 200 words)
• Artist bio (max. 100 words)
• High-quality photos of the work
• Process or behind-the-scenes images (if available)

SELECTED PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE

• A feature in BARZAKH’s e-zine
• A published interview with the artist