Artea Brahaj
This full face mask encapsulates the idea that Allah is the Only Reality and it is He who manifests Himself into all realities. This Sufi interpretation of Tawhid informed every artistic decision of the piece. I specifically look at the belief that God is immanent, meaning He is within all things. The leaves painted and drawn throughout the face represent not only nature but life, the idea that God is found in everything. Nature itself is scripture as one can find the signs of God in something as simple as a leaf. The use of mixed mediums (black marker, cardboard, metallic paint, and oil crayons) point to how Allah can be found in every and all natural elements. The word "Allah" is positioned throughout the face such that no matter one's vantage point, "Allah" is visible; such artistic choice represents how everywhere you turn is the face of God. The following Quranic verse was informing my drawing: "To God belong the East and the West; wherever you turn, there is the face of God." [2:115] If listening to the recitation of the Quran, the words of Allah, through one's ears reaches the person's heart, this piece represents the ultimate aim of the Sufi which is communion with God through spiritual realization. I too was inspired by Ibn alʿArabī's [d.1240] Unity of Being in which he speaks about the relationship between God and his creation. If God is the object and the human being is the mirror, then God's essence is always within the individual. The individual I am portraying with the face mask has begun a path to oneness. The notes of green throughout hints that this individual could be the al-insān al-kāmil (the ‘Perfect Human’) as there are linkages between Prophet Muhammad (as the Perfect Human that in some ways embodies the Quran) and the the color green.
