The painting uses light, shade, and colour to show how sensory perception reveals only
shadows, while true reality emerges when the veil is lifted. This reflects Plato’s Allegory of the
Cave and Ibn Arabi’s concept of imagination as a barzakh that uncovers hidden meanings.
The pattern is inspired by Abdul-Qadir Gilani’s mausoleum in Baghdad, Iraq. It features four-
fold symmetry, symbolising the earth, seasons, and primordial elements. The eight-pointed
star (Khatam Sulayman) represents light’s triumph over darkness.