Learning a language is difficult at the best of times. I don’t know about you, but when I see a different alphabet with unfamiliar characters, it’s quite a challenge to even begin. I have faded memories of learning to read and write, choosing a hand to use my pencil with (I chose left and never looked back), and finding spelling particularly difficult. Holding the image of the word in my mind with the letters was just not how my brain wanted to work. I heard the sound, felt the valency of the word, the way it made me feel. I suppose it’s just a bit of neurodivergence. These illuminated Arabic letters struck me as useful straight away. Bridging the categories between literal and illustrated, the linking of the characters with the emblem makes the work of comprehension that little bit easier.  
 
In today’s political and social environment, small differences are being magnified and used as weapons of fear. Weaponising different behaviour, beliefs, and language is only possible when people don’t understand them and can imagine all kinds of malevolence within something usually harmless. This puts another level of utility on these Arabic letters, demystifying the script for us Westerners is going to break down a lot of the walls of ignorance that keep us anxious. I personally think that’s a vital part of communicative art in today’s world, as the borders disappear under internet social spaces and resources, our different ways need addressing in a constructive way. 
 
Designed by Mahmoud Tammam, the beautifully designed words provide just enough of the meaning in their embellishments to keep the lettering intact and point to the literal meaning. It’s a clever and imaginative way of bringing the language to life for non-native speakers and young learners alike. It requires a significant amount of creative thought to find the best way of displaying the emblem so that both elements of the design remain fully accessible. Reported in My Modern Met almost ten years ago, it’s a great time to bring this back to the front. A large selection of Mahmoud’s images is on display there. I’ve shared a couple of them for examples, I recommend viewing the rest.  
 
 Also, you can browse online language courses that let you learn for free or as part of a qualification with FutureLearn. You reward this journal with any purchase. If you take a free course, I feel rewarded too. Please share this article. 
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​Perhaps inspired by the Communist Manifesto, in which people are the state and everything is shared, the Surrealist Manifesto spelled out what some would call nonsense. However, what its author, Andre Breton, knew, is that the subconscious of the human being is the root of all behaviour and thought and it deals in surrealism all the time. The new thought at the turn of the 20th Century in the world of psychoanalysis saw the unveiling of our mental process in luminescent detail. What was poetically known for centuries by mystics and contemplatives through self-discovery and dream was given new language and scientific inquiry. Metaphysics and spiritual alchemy suddenly became real as the curtain was drawn back by the contemporary explorers of consciousness.
 
The art-form that came from this one little book is now a global phenomenon with new works continually building on the initial idea. Not forgetting to mention Thrive Mind, which I released last year, there are plenty of books, paintings, films, and even video games that draw on elements of the surreal to varying degrees. A high-brow and academic view is always available with art and when galleries get involved, this is often what they do best. The Belgian BRAFA Art Fair is a modern culmination of galleries and artists who curate the regular exhibition and display talking points that resonate across Europe.
 
This year, to celebrate the 100th birthday of surrealism, the work of Andre Breton is being used as the cornerstone in a wide-ranging display and discussion of surrealist art. At the same time as Breton, the French language surrealist journal Correspondance emerged, co-written by Paul Nuage. Correspondance still carries the flame sparked by the poet Andre Breton into new realms of cultural acclaim. Starting with regular one sheet episodes, the magazine now has a popular website. From here, a network of artists and writers took to the waters and sailed their ships over the rocks to build new corners of the globe. This scene became more vivid and more surreal as the years flowed in. With the onset of war in Europe, it could have been dismantled and forgotten, like the gas lamps and cavalry stables, but luckily for us, the art world simply could not turn its back on this mentally stimulating and endearingly confusing genre. The 60s and 70s saw a massive resurgence of the surrealist movement as psychedelia and eastern philosophy entered the western sphere.
 
 
Held between Jan 28th until Feb 4th, the Belgian Expo houses the BRAFA Art Fair for the 69th time. A massive range of surrealist art is waiting to be seen and tasted with the mind. It’s not just BRAFA, either, as dozens of other contributors to the Expo are also taking on a surrealist theme. The spiritual home of the art form, Belgium is the best venue for this long-standing seated tradition. Visitors can even catch a glimpse of an original copy of the Surrealist Manifesto by Andre Breton, in which only a dozen or so still survive. Of course, if you want to read it, you’ll need to buy a new one.
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