“Since childhood, I was exposed to both Western and Near Eastern influences. I was very connected to Persian poetry and also architecture at the time...”
—Y.Z.Kami
Y.Z.Kami's oeuvre explores the continuous change between matter and spirit. Having been first exposed to Western and Near Eastern influences by his mother, the Iranian born artist integrates both his passion for Rumi inspired poetry and his love for European masters into his practice. Kami’s abstract works – like The Endless Prayer series - synthesise the New York based artist’s passion for architecture, geometric form and Near East poetry to create a oneiric composition. This series attempts to encapsulate an ethereal state of mind, creating a geometric formation that seems to have an infinite quality.
The present work, a mixed-media collage, from the series titled Endless Prayer comprises numerous fragmented rectangular strips of paper which are carefully constructed into a mandala like formation. Each unique piece of paper has been scanned and printed with an extract from an Islamic prayer and the individual pieces come together to form a whirlwind pattern that encompasses the work. Kami sees these circular patterns as a metaphor for the celestial world but also attempts through these intricate designs to echo the elaborate interiors of classical Islamic architecture. This influence is further emphasised by the outlined cross that spans the canvas which mimics the floorplan of an ancient Islamic Mosque. The current example’s lack of perspective coupled with its enthralling design gives the composition an aura of transcendence perhaps alluding to the duality of prayer being both a conscious and unconscious state of mind.
