WHEN FIRE LOVES WATER

2019

Awartani’s ‘When Fire Loves Water’ series,  act as moments of pause and reflection within her practice. In contrast to her usual highly intricate paintings, this minimalist and monochromatic body of work revert back to the source of her inspiration, Sufi mysticism. Awartani describes these paintings as acts of mediation and moments of contemplation as part of her daily rigour of being an artist, a method she frequently adopts to quiet the mind.

Created on handmade paper that recycles left over fibbers from textile mills, these paintings draw upon multiple facets of her work, most importantly the role of sacred geometry as a visual language. In this case, Awartani explores the symbolism of the circle as a source and expression of Tawhid, as all of her drawings begin and finish within a circle expressing the multiplicity within singularity. By choosing to revert back to the purity of the circle, she reflects on the simple act of conscious re-enactment as a form of introspection. 

Works such as In Search of Silence, aim to expand beyond the formal limits of traditional miniature painting technique and explore new languages of expression, one that is more fluid, spontaneous and unrestrained. In The Union of Fire and Water, which brings two different temporalities together, Awartani takes a playful approach by encouraging the viewers to actively participate in the layout of the paintings. 

You Are The Universe in Ecstatic Motion I, 2019, Gouache and shell gold on handmade paper, 155 x 148cm. © Dana Awartani

When Fire Loves Water, 2019, Gouache and shell gold on handmade paper, 185 x 122cm. © Dana Awartani

In Search of Silence, 2019, Gouache on handmade paper, 7 pieces – 21.7 x 26.7 cm each. © Dana Awartani

The Union of Fire and Water I & II, 2019, Gouache and shell gold on handmade paper, 4 pieces – 28.5 x 17 cm each. © Dana Awartani