Axis Mundi

2015 - 2016

Painting, drawing, collage, 22” x 34” each

Hyde Gallery
Memphis, TN

Linda Ross Gallery
Memphis, TN

Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery
Nashville, TN

ahha Hardesty Arts Center
Tulsa, OK

Eisenman Arts Center
Dallas, TX

24 Works on Paper Traveling Exhibit
Oklahoma

Axis Mundi, a phrase that means "navel of the world" signifies for me the cosmic axis connecting the heaven and the earth, the material and the spiritual, the inner and outer. It is an ancient symbol of cosmic unity and interconnectedness. This series, combining geometric patterns with aerial views of earth, foreshadows the ideas I developed more fully with Fractured Cosmos. These works reference mapping, interior structures/organs, veins traversing the terrain like roadmaps; they are layered with references to explosions, oil spills—signifiers of destruction. Yet aerial views of cities at night form patterns of lights much like constellations; the glittering maps and starry radial webs are in turn, similar to the geometric patterns in my work. Our patterned creations echo a cosmic unity. Positioned above, given a macroscopic perspective of earth seen from space, the viewer is invited to bear witness to the work making itself—and more broadly to connect with oneself and the energy of the cosmos.

© 2014-2024 Sarah Ahmad. All Rights Reserved.