The Sentient Spaces series merges traditional Persian miniature painting techniques with contemporary expression and introspective storytelling. Each piece is meticulously rendered in gouache on handmade wasli paper, using fine brushes—including custom brushes crafted from selected squirrel tail hairs to achieve the precision and delicacy these works require.

Rooted in the lineage of Persian miniature art, the series also draws from Indian miniature traditions—particularly in the use of side-profile portraiture—and Eastern Asian influences, where koi fish serve as recurring symbols of transformation, reflection, and emotional movement.

Techniques such as gadrang, neemrang, and detailed sketching serve as more than methods—they act as vessels for memory, layering inner landscapes onto each painted surface. The intricate textures and illuminated motifs echo classical traditions, while also exploring the cultural weight and symbolic meaning of pattern, repetition, and ornamentation. These visual elements construct both the backgrounds and foregrounds of the compositions, offering dimensionality while honoring the historical aesthetics of miniature painting.

This body of work becomes a dialogue between the past and the present, tradition and imagination, the real and the unreal. It challenges the borders between my inner paracosm and its translation into physical form. Sentient Spaces is an experimental journey, where each stroke traces the liminal space between self and world. Through it, I seek not only to preserve and reinterpret ancestral techniques but to locate a quiet, contemporary resonance within them—a space of peace, reinvention, and personal myth-making.