​Abstract Work

I utilise intricate and disciplined mark making rooted in my training in Indo Persian miniature painting. The language of the dot, the patient layering, the devotion to repetition, all form the foundation of my practice. Over time these marks have evolved. What once described figures and narratives has gradually shifted towards non representational gestures, stains, and fields of colour.
During my MA programme I began looking closely at abstraction, particularly the work of Fiona Rae. Her deep engagement with surface and gesture opened something in me. I became increasingly interested in abstract painting, not as a departure from miniature, but as an expansion of it.
My abstraction does not emerge from nowhere. It grows directly from my miniature training. The repeated dot of the nuqta becomes a pulse. The controlled brush transforms into a liberated gesture. The discipline of wasli prepares the ground for risk. Even when the work appears non representational, it carries within it the memory of striving for precision.

What abstraction has given me is a sense of liberty. A different breath. I enjoy the freedom of making expansive marks just as deeply as I once enjoyed laying thousands of meticulous dots. Repetition remains central to my practice. It is meditative. It is devotional. It is muscle memory built over years. Whether through intricate detailing or sweeping gestures, the act of mark making is still an act of presence.
These abstract works form another strand within my oeuvre. They sit in conversation with the miniature tradition rather than in opposition to it. They extend the language of heritage into contemporary space, allowing intuition and structure to coexist on the same surface.

Untitled 1
gouache, Tea stain and spray paint on board
​60x40 cm
​2021

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​Untitled 2
Tea stain and spray paint on board
​60x40 cm
​2021

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​Untitled 3
gouache, Tea stain on wasli
​2021

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Untitled 4
gouache, Tea stain on wasli
​2021

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