It isn’t the words, but the semiotic power behind ancient scriptures that have always held a trance like spell over me. Cultivated from the Quranic practices of my childhood and being taught to write the verses. Reciting the Arabic chapters gave a comfortable familiarity however I never actually understood the words as our native tongue is Urdu. It was at this point that I started using the arabesque style to create coded scriptures; my own secret and safe form of self-expression.
In 2018 my diaries and the treasures they contained were unexpectedly returned to me and all of this wonder uncovered. Arabesque style markings that I continued to diarise and paint for decades over and over - its origins finally unearthed. A concept I call, Sarabesque.
