Andalusia Spain

The Moorish approach to depicting the divine in art follows the Islamic tradition of aniconism. Rather than direct, figurative depictions of religious figures and representations of God, Islam employs a non-figurative approach, utilising intricate geometric patterns, calligraphy and abstract floral designs.

I knew this before I travelled of course, but the 2D depictions in photos and travel books never really prepared me for the experience. The art showcased in the Moorish mosques and palaces, consisted of endless geometric patterns, each exploring their own colour palette and designs, woven together to create a harmonious whole.

There is something very enticing about an artistic undertaking that relentlessly hints at a spiritual realm underneath the material world we are accustomed to. The art is mesmerising. It is beautiful. But most importantly it touches the viewer, luring one deeper and deeper, beyond the intellectual mind, to a place where there is only experience.

Strangely enough, I felt a lot of connection between this geometric expression and my own abstract style of landscape. In my own work, I focus on painting the light that I sense beneath the landscapes before me. I don’t literally paint the ocean, or the rivers, or the trees, but instead, I try and paint the essence of those landscapes and hope to communicate that essence to the viewer.

For me, a literal depiction of a landscape loses something of the essence of that landscape. It becomes finite and limited. My goal is to share the experience of a particular landscape which connects the viewer to the experience of all landscapes. In essence, I am trying in my own way to invoke a sense of the divine.