Aaliya Dramat

Artist Catalogue

Virtual Exhibition

Sunnah

Most people can agree that the Covid-19 pandemic sparked great change, good or bad, over the lives of everyone within the last two years. Some businesses closed; others opened. With everyone going into a worldwide lockdown people were greeted with something that they were not used to, free time. Suddenly there was an infinite amount of time to think, reflect and to even do some soul searching. For me, personally, after months of being depressed something clicked and I found a greater need to connect to my spiritual side and grow closer to my religion, Islam.

With the opportunity to spend an entire year working on a central project I thought, there would be no better way than using it to express the spiritual journey I decided to undertake. I began to wonder what one could do to become a “better Muslim”. Once one incorporates all the core aspects of their religion into their life what are they left with? The answer is the sunnah (pronounced soon-nah). Before Islam, the word “sunnah” meant ‘manner of acting’. Presently, “sunnah” refers to the way of life of the prophet Muhammed (PBUH), which is the lifestyle Muslims strive to implement in their own lives through traditions and practices. The sunnah is encouraged but is not mandatory.

The body of work I produced this year expresses and records some of the different ways in which I have connected with my religion throughout my journey. My art also depicts the challenges. and sometimes failure, which accompany the task of striving to reach a higher level of spirituality. My body of work explores themes of Sabr (patience) and meditation. Most of my works that form part of this exhibition have taken the entire year to complete and have quite long and strenuous processes. This speaks to the nature of religion and how it can be seen as long and strenuous but that is the beauty of religion. To have faith and persevere.