The Altar of Self Discovery

Medium: wood, cork, brass, silver, ink and paint Size: 157 x 85 x 5.7 cm Weight: 10.5 kg. Date: 2003-2012 An altar, or a prayer niche, to a worshiper appears as a gateway that leads to a domain of sublime presence. It acts both as a window and a mirror, bringing together the worlds within and without. There at the altar, the lower self and the absolute Self meet and merge. The same way that a tiny drop of rain loses its identity in the vastness of a sea, the imperfect self of a worshiper joins – or rather becomes – the all-embracing Self. This is where words leave their heaviness, thoughts lose their sharp edges, and souls float like transparent birds without mass. Time stands still, and mental pollutions cease to exist. It all sounds surreal! Can it be real? Is such an experience possible at all? Who knows! But the idea is so fascinating and fulfilling that has engaged me in my prayers, thoughts, and artworks. This artwork invokes the Divine attribute “The All-Seeing” (البصیر), repeated four times in circumambulation (طواف) around a small mirror that symbolically represents the Kaʿba. The central mirror also serves as a reminder that all divine qualities reside within us; it is through our own selves that we may perceive and experience the essence of the Divine. The central piece is adorned with an exquisite silver element resembling a precious necklace. In the background, white graceful birds and floral and vegetal motifs flow harmoniously, interlaced with spiritually inspired couplets in Shikasteh Nastaʿlīq script—an effort to give visual form to the Qur’anic verse: “All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies God” (يُسَبِّحُ لِلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ).