Brush of art, blush of soul: Subia Khan Hussain's mystic canvases

Subia Khan Hussain is a self-taught artist from India. "Islamic mysticism and realism are my forte," she says.

- Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

She works to bridge Islamic mysticism and realism, striving to present spirituality through tangible manifestation. Islamic calligraphy, with its emphasis on purification, love, and the quest for unity with the Divine, serves as a conceptual and emotional foundation for her paintings. Her approach to realism is not just about depicting the form of a subject: through realism, she would like to capture the spiritual truths that lie beneath the surface. She is also focused on Sufism.

"Each brushstroke," Subia says, "is a meditation, each colour a reflection of the divine light that Sufism speaks of. By combining the vivid detail of realism with the abstracted, symbolic elements of Sufi thought, I aim to create artworks that resonate at both sensory and spiritual levels." Through the interplay of light and shadow, form and formlessness, her paintings invite viewers to embark on their own contemplative journeys. The pieces are designed to evoke a sense of the transcendent within the familiar, encouraging a deeper engagement with both the external world and the inner self. "Ultimately, my work is a dialogue between the seen and the unseen, the material and the spiritual," Subia says. "It is an exploration of how the divine manifests within the fabric of everyday life, and a reminder of the sacred dimensions that reside in all things." Subia speaks to Gulf Today.

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