‘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.

1. Nazar — The First Glance

“And know, my brother, that the beginning and origin of love is nazar, a glance, a look toward a certain person. It is like a seed planted…”

The series opens with Nazar : the first gaze. Here, the host greets the guest with a wordless acknowledgment, a silent welcome. A smile, a gesture, while offering Sakar (sweets) in a bowl - a metaphorical vessel in which the seed of love is sown.