Perpetual
Perpetual
Artist
Mobeen Akhtar.
Artwork Title & Inspiration
'Perpetual’.
Inspired by illuminated Qur’ans from the Mamluk era where geometry and arabesque combine to produce beautiful opening folios.
Artwork Category
Miniature painting.
Physical Description
24k gold, Malachite mineral mined in the Congo and Gouache on handmade banana paper.
Dimensions
30 x 32 cm.
Country of Origin
United Kingdom.
LOT 87
Mobeen Akhtar
Mobeen Akhtar’s work reflects her admiration for Islamic arabesque and geometric patterns and more recently Persian miniatures. She is best known for her meticulously detailed spiralling patterns, consisting of carefully placed motifs and stylised flowers. Inspired by the intricately illuminated pages of centuries old Quranic script, she aims to practice the traditional methods so they may be recognised and enjoyed today, as they were in the past.
Through her own interpretation of Islamic art, she hopes to instigate a wider appreciation for it and encourage people to question and admire the techniques used to accomplish it. Continuously striving to evolve her work she began to experiment with historic and religious buildings. New work also includes visions of gardens full of detailed trees, flowers and birds as part of her exploration into Persian miniatures.
Mobeen continues to learn to create her own paints with natural pigments extracted from minerals, earth and plants. The use of 24k gold is also used extensively throughout her paintings. It is a true honour to be able to use what God has provided for us in nature to recreate scenes from nature itself.
Through her work, Mobeen is reminded of the perfection in God’s creations and the continuity which extends from Him alone. This profoundly inspires every piece of artwork that she begins with the humble pencil and ends with the stroke of a brush.