Mysticism occupies a transitional space, merging opposites like darkness and light, life and death, and action and contemplation.

Rooted in personal experiences, it poses challenges for documentation. While mysticism sometimes avoids visual imagery, it also uses it for purification, enlightenment, teaching, and as steps toward higher understanding. Art without contemplation risks becoming mere craftsmanship, raising the question: is an artist a partial mystic?

Sana Arjumand’s The Vision of Thousands of Stars Shining Your Way is a standout oil and acrylic painting featured in her solo exhibition ‘Special’ at Chawkandi Art Gallery in Karachi. This self-portrait addresses how daily life can make us forget our origins.

Arjumand explains, “Life is a temporary visit, yet our role is universal. We are gatherers of information and knowledge. The bird represents higher beings, sources of light that interact with us invisibly but profoundly influence our thoughts and minds. The sphere on my head symbolises the different frequencies we engage with.”

Introspection and spirituality define the oeuvre of Sana Arjumand, with birds taking on a particular symbolic importance

The bird motif is central in Arjumand’s exploration of mysticism, as is made evident in vibrant artworks such as The End of Suffering and The Perfect Mirror. Spirituality, mysticism and magic, often on the fringes of contemporary art, are central to the alternative and radical subcultures that influence it. Western artists, bohemians and intellectuals have rebelled against moral and religious norms by embracing past supernatural practices and non-Western spiritualism.

In her statement about ‘Special’, Arjumand describes this new body of her work. Here is a brief excerpt: “There is an ebb and flow of tension between energies that contrast, but are paired, like red and green on the colour wheel. Each colour is independent and full of beauty on its own, but it’s in their pairing, and the tension between them never touching, that we see their full brilliance.”

The exhibition also includes a fibreglass relief, The Departure of Words and Coming of Silence, depicting a bird emerging from a man’s upper torso and four birds flying away, with indiscernible words on each bird. Arjumand explains that, as we age, we seek silence and introspection, with the birds symbolising speech taking flight.

Born in Karachi in 1982, Arjumand graduated from the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore in 2005. She received the Nigaah Art Award in painting this year, and has extensively shown internationally and locally. She has participated in a number of group shows, including at the University of Sunderland, the Nake Art Museum in South Korea, the Broadway Gallery in Amman, and at the Aicon Gallery in London. She has also held shows in Mumbai and Ahmedabad in India, and solo and group shows across Pakistan.

From prehistoric cave paintings to Renaissance masterpieces, art has always been deeply linked to human well-being. Throughout history and across cultures, art has been seen not just as a creative expression but as a mystical force that heals both body and soul. Arjumand’s introspection of the self in relation to the universe reveals the profound connection between art, mysticism and health.

‘Special’ was on display at Chawkandi Art Gallery in Karachi from June 11-20, 2024

Rumana Husain is a writer, artist and educator. She is the author of two coffee-table books on Karachi, and has authored and illustrated 75 children’s books

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 7th, 2024