‘Longing and Belonging’

In an increasingly digital world, virtual interactions offer efficiency but often erode the tactile and emotional resonance of face-to-face human connection.

Drawing upon personal memory, this series revisits the artist’s childhood experiences of hospitality, moments in which gestures of welcome, care, and intimacy sowed and
nurtured the seeds of love.

Inspired by an ancient Fatimid text that traces love’s progression from seed to tree, the series of six artworks map parallel stages of hospitality, depicting how acts of welcome evolve into deeper states of longing and belonging.

4. Khalwa — Privacy

“…If he attains this and it becomes easy, he then wishes for privacy.”

Tulips mark Khalwa: the threshold of privacy. When the gathering disperses, the guest remains, lingering into the quiet hours of the night. Within this space of trust, conversation deepens and silence itself becomes a form of intimacy.