The Lover and the Beloved Drawing

Significantly influenced by sufi ideologies, my work visually rests as serene and meditative in parallel to the disturbing questions of division and social hierarchy arising from them. Interchangeably, sufi teachings are generally identified as highly individualistic and harmonious practices while being on the contrary- Observing the sporadic existence of dervish from the rise of sufism centuries ago,having being taken a vow of selfless love and distancing from the norms of society, they were and until now are deemed as controversial figures. Their presence brings uneasiness in social settings and questions the elaborate ways of the tediously complicated belief system. Similar to the silent uneasiness I try to achieve through my practice. Manifesting creatures like bees, birds and fish as symbols for their inter-religious references, geo-location and life cycle. Ornate and complex geometric drawings hailing from centuries of tradition of being adorned with natural pigments and organic materials, whilst I choose to treat them with fluorescent colors that are industrially made and artificial in nature implying towards the need of beliefs becoming more synthetic and fabricated rather than being the innate desire to be spiritual and organic. Consistently moving between these ideas the imagery stands as a metaphor and holds a multitude of meaning. Actions like shredding and restructuring pages from history books, reducing words from letters to dots (nuqta). Coming forth as a process of unlearning a plethora of information being fed over a period of time. In totality my practice melts down to a consistent effort in breaking down or simplifying the complexity of fabricated information into the importance of one single entity. One minimal existence that contains all.