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Abstract
The worshiper is the person who pays reverent honor and homage to the God. To me, the act of worship becomes a means of reintegration, which unites my outward world to my spiritual existence. The primary objective of my MFA project is to investigate the possibilities of aligning my art to my religious beliefs: and to find ways to place the dialogue in a contemporary framework. My research is primarily informed by the underlying symbolism of practice in Islamic worship and the symbolism behind Islamic artistic expressions. The images emulate the process of spiritual cleansing, which I am experiencing in recent years. My art interprets the remembrance of God in a visual domain as it seeks to embody the environment of worship. The symbolic visual language is directly drawn from the practice of Islamic canonical prayers to facilitate the narrative of my own spiritually dichotomic and divided existence in this world. It attempts to analyze an interaction and tension between inward and outward dimensions of existence in order to create a state of union and integration on a visual plane. My work is focused on the inner dimensions of my faith rather than its outward manifestations; it becomes a vehicle enabling me to arrive at the state of reflection. The images produced are the direct result of the act of contemplation and religious practices. The symbolic visual interpretation of my religious quest is discernible in a universal and contemporary artistic expression that strives to engage a universal audience.