In a world where mental health is still cloaked in stigma - especially within many cultural and faith-based communities - the Illuminate Collection is both a personal offering and a public act of healing. Rooted in Islamic tradition and enriched by lived experience, this body of work was born out of my role as Creative Producer for the Illuminate Project: a community-focused arts and culture initiative aimed at confronting depression, anxiety, and healing through the lens of faith and creativity.

A Personal Journey Into Light

The name “Illuminate” was never just a title. It was a prayer. A yearning for light in places where it had long been absent. For years, I’ve wrestled with my own experiences of depression and anxiety - silently at first, and then more openly as I realised the power of vulnerability. When I began working on this collection, I didn’t just want to create aesthetically pleasing art - I wanted to create space for truth. The kind of truth that trembles but stands anyway.

Each brushstroke, each layer of gold leaf, every verse of Qur’an embedded within the textures was a form of dhikr - a remembrance. Not just of God, but of myself. I found solace in the creative process, and through that process, healing began to take root. 

This work became my journal, my therapy, my dua.

As I shared glimpses of this journey on Instagram, I was overwhelmed by the resonance it had with others. I wasn’t alone in my pain - and neither are you.

Art That Speaks to the Silent Struggles

The collection features 22 pieces created over the course of a year - each one holding space for a particular emotional state or spiritual reflection. These pieces are not just decorative objects; they are witnesses to my inner landscape during this time.

Some were created during quiet early mornings of spiritual clarity. Others came from evenings burdened with grief and exhaustion. All were honest.

One of the most personal pieces in the collection is titled “When Brokenness is Consuming.” At 150 x 100 cm, it’s not just physically large - it’s emotionally vast. The piece confronts the ache of collapse and the slow, sacred process of being rebuilt. Inspired by the symbolism of the Qur’anic verse “Indeed, with hardship comes ease” (94:6), it visually depicts the way divine light filters through even the most fractured parts of the self.

Explore “When Brokenness is Consuming”

Mediums with Meaning

The collection is divided into three distinct bodies of work, each exploring a different material and emotional texture:

• Mixed Media on Canvas/Wood: These pieces are layered with texture, calligraphy, paint, and gold leaf. The tactility mirrors the emotional layers of healing - raw, scratched, luminous.
• Gouache and Pigment on Handmade Indigo Paper: Indigo is historically linked to spiritual protection and inner depth. These works are more intimate, meditative - designed for quiet reflection.These explore traditional Maghrebi script in contemporary ways, often interwoven with verses from Surah Duha—an anchoring theme throughout the collection.
• In on Eggshell fragments: Exploring Kintsugi, and finding beauty within the brokenness. Eggshells symbolise fragility and the beginning of life.

Each medium was intentionally chosen to echo the mood and message of the piece. The tension between control and surrender is felt in the materials themselves.

An Islamic Lens on Mental Health

At the heart of this collection is the belief that Islam and mental health are not at odds. In fact, the Islamic tradition is rich with metaphors of struggle, healing, and divine compassion. Surah Duha - a chapter that has personally comforted me during difficult times - became a spiritual spine for this work. Its promise that the “latter will be better than the former” (93:4) is both terrifying and tender. It inspired several artworks and guided the emotional tone of the collection.

In one Instagram post, I shared how this Surah became more than scripture - it became breath. The collection, then, is my attempt to translate that breath into color and form.

From the Studio to the Gallery

After a year of solitude, self-confrontation, and creation, I’m honoured to share that the Illuminate Collection will be exhibited at De Montfort University in Leicester from April 5th to 25th, 2025. This exhibition marks the culmination of a deeply introspective period and the beginning of a broader dialogue - one that invites viewers to reflect on their own journeys through darkness and into light.

The response so far has been humbling. Through previews on social media, I’ve received heartfelt messages from people who saw themselves in the work - from those quietly battling anxiety to those finding their way back to faith after hardship.

Exhibition Promo Video

Healing Through Sharing

Art can’t cure mental illness - but it can witness it. And in that witnessing, it can hold space for empathy, faith, and change. The Illuminate Collection is an offering: to myself, to my community, to anyone who has ever asked, “Where is the light?” and feared they’d never find it again.

To those people, I say: the light is coming. Sometimes slowly. Sometimes all at once. But always, eventually.

And if you need a reminder—come see it in paint.