By A swarm of bees swirl towards the image of Mecca representing whirling Dervishes and pilgrims in Huma Shoaib’s geometric art. Through a collection of lines and patterns, she showcases the similarities between religious beliefs even as the changing details in birds and bees in her art follow the notion of unlearning and relearning portraying that harmony comes from inner revolutions. A visual artist based in Dubai, Huma’s geometric art explores the Sufi ideology of losing oneself in order to find the truth. Her current exhibition titled ‘Silent Confabulations’ on at XVA
Gallery, Al Fahidi, Bur Dubai until April 15, 2021, captures the nuances of spiritual journeys from chaos to harmony.
Born to Pakistani parents and raised in Saudi Arabia, Huma, is a graduate in Fine Arts from the National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has been showcased at Tashkeel’s annual shows, at XVA and at other galleries in Dubai. She uses papercut drawings and silhouettes layered together with detailed graphite drawings rendering a three-dimensional feature to flat imagery. Inspired by mysticism and Rumi’s poetry, her art is a visual narrative of Sufism.
Huma shares her creative perspective behind three of her artworks with middleeastmasala here:
This work with the title Confabulations, is a reference towards the Sufi concept of losing one’s self in order to reach the height of divine love. In my work bees are used as symbols for devotees or beings going through transitional phases before reaching enlightenment. A bee here drawn in complete detail, gradually turning into flat silhouettes as if it is losing its identity. From a silver silhouette which notions towards enlightenment, the bee becomes part of the geometric symbol. The geometry and the rigorous process of making these geometric symbols, have various meanings, such as the journey that one takes to achieve perfection, overlooking the mistakes occurring along the process. The use of fluorescent colour gives traditional imagery a contemporary twist, which perhaps shows the transition of how old thoughts and ideas prevail through time.
The title ‘I possess a hundred fortresses’ is borrowed from Rumi’s poetry. This piece reflects the process of unlearning and relearning. It is like a cycle that perhaps we keep experiencing in our lives wherein we unlearn all that has been taught to us and relearn. This cyclic experiential process keeps repeating throughout a lifespan. Hummingbirds for me are like bees, mystical creatures humming the songs about divine love.
The diptych with the title ‘ Lover and the beloved’ is inspired by the Punjabi Qawwali sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, in which the poet refers to the tough choice he’s making whether to enter God’s house on one side or his lover’s on the other. The hand cut and laser cut paper drawings are layered together signifying a multitude of meanings. Geometric motifs from different sacred beliefs are put together to make one image, yet the two parts in the artwork define the homogeneity of desire for seeking the spiritual paths in all of us, despite the beliefs we hold.
**All pics supplied by the artist