Category: acrylic

Description: 20″x24″ acrylic on canvas. This painting was inspired from a divine Islamic tradition that always lingers with me: “I was a Hidden Treasure and I longed to be known therefore I created the spheres so that I may be know.” (Hadith Qudsi). This piece’s creative process took me in so many directions, it seemed to bewilder me every time I picked up the brush… I must say with all the surprise dances it stirred, this painting taught me much about the different stations of Islam/Surrender.

~ Hidden Treasure ~

Bismillah,
Eye in eye,
intermingling loud
and clear with the Key
you exist in,
your being is a cry for
the excellence of Sound;
you long to harmonize
with the divine praises
chanted by the Night,
you seek the Love of Love,
the lover’s heart knows
it’s not the form
but its songs’ Song
that it wants,
its constant flirtation
with Suras so that
eventually, it becomes
particles of such scent
just like the prophet (as)
was the Qur’an itself.

A pause,
a tear,
then:

“Allah (swt) is The Light
of the unseen and the seen,
the Light of Isa (as)
and Muhammad (as),
the Light of the worlds
unfurling on the prayer
mat of gravity.
Allah (swt) is the Unmanifest
of the manifest, Nature praises Him
in ways we may ignore
yet He is The Beloved all
prophets (as) spoke of,
The globes’ Sustainer,
The tender force that enrobes us
The Healer of grieving hearts,
The Hidden Treasure
The Hidden Treasure
The Hidden Treasure…”

© 2006 Aida Toure.

Description: 28″x22″ acrylic on canvas. This painting is a celebration of my Soninké roots. The poem Soninké Symphony inspired the piece; transcribing its verses upon canvas was an awesome experience filled with pleasant sounds and scents. The colors selected are intimately linked to Kayes, my beloved father’s birthplace.

~ Soninké Symphony ~

Bewildered by the beauties
scattered on the spheres
I lost speech for weeks,

lips sealed by Sound itself,
I dissolved on the curves
of Love, abandoned in Sajdah

as if the quiet lovers gathered
in those dancy lines,
soul wrapped around the other

they lay on each verse,
beds for my tired eye.
Now colors are slipping through:

“We do this in the name of Hu,
all as one revolving like stars do
when the heart recites Suras.

We unfold with Kalima,
notice all saints evolve
upon their prayermats,

so they revolve with the skies,
existence screaming with grace;
no one we know could help it!

We are wild canals for Ruh,
intertwined in tenderness
to shower you with the

divine sense again.
We are the music between
the pages of the Glorious Qur’an,

we are the scent on Joseph’s (as) shirt
we wander your chest to reintroduce you
to The Rabb of the worlds.”

At this melodious mercy,
the ego sobbs, reclines
and suddenly longs for prostration!

2007 copyrights Aida Toure.

8′ x 18″ acrylic on canvas

Description: This painting evokes the soul’s nostalgia for The Divine as it journeys in a chaotic world. The poem incorporated in this piece is below.

~ Pearly Tears ~

Your scent lingers
with each curve

tracing the Universe.
Reduced to physicality,

the soul wanders beauties
for the sake of Love

until it beholds
your face again,

between each space,
there are insane lovers

whose vocabulary flirts
with the light scattered

like pearls to adorn
your precious hiddenness.

© 2007 Aida Toure.

Description: 22″x28″ acrylic on canvas. “Upon the Spheres’ Lips” relates to the spiritual Proximity the soul journeys through when we allow it to evolve in Surrender. Here, the movements of the Spheres are considered as the ultimate reflection of Surrender/Islam; therefore striving to mirror their harmony with the Divine Law introduces the human soul to great beauty. This painting took form from this poem below of the same title. I immensely enjoyed painting this piece, its language energy was motherly and gentle. I must say that it is one of my favorite pieces!

~ Upon the Spheres’ Lips ~

Bismillah,
I am at my best
when I lay at your feet,
rolling and rolling within
in the way no one sees
but you.

Lost in this state,
language makes no sense
and the soul’s nakedness
glides by to deepen us
at the thought of staying
right there,
of all our being,
below you.

Then a voice says:
this is love knocking
from inside, open up
and stay wide open until
the prophets (as) walk
by, ecstatically chanting
la ilaha illa Allah!

At this, joyful sobbs
inundate the atmosphere
and I become a kiss
laid upon the Spheres’ lips.

© 2007 Aida Toure.

Description: 18″x14″ acrylic on canvas panel. This painting represents the quintessential Africa, from ancient times until now. It’s a celebration of the Motherland’s monumental contributions to civilization that have deliberately been omitted from history books. This piece defeats the label of “dark continent” given to Africa, a continent whose spiritual and material resources continue to support the prosperity of western societies around the globe. “Africa: the Luminous, the Coveted” symbolizes the uncelebrated evolutionary flux that has molded the spiritual, mathematical, artistic, scientific genius for centuries and that has spread all over the planet.

Description: One night I was sitting and my eyes rested on my beige guitar and all of the sudden I saw it painted with interesting patterns so I gathered my brushes and paint tubes and I started working on it right away… I entitled the piece “La Note Orange”.
Year of Creation: 2006

(SOLD)

Description: This painting is a celebration of the prostration, with all the universes that unfold during this prayer position where the lover is closest to The Beloved. This piece has elements I had been longing to express for the longest time so it was a true celebration of the joy of Salat (prayer). The prostration position in Islamic prayer is one of the most moving experience the soul can journey through. Even though to many it may be considered as just a physical position, prostration is the moment when we are closest to Allah (swt), we shed our ego and the grace unfolds… During his prayers alone, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) used to stay in prostration for a long time and he would often shed tears. Year of Creation: 2006

~ The Prostrated ~

Paint brush and pen in hand,
you wander the rug of gravity,
silenced by the Speech,
heart is the only canvas
upon which reality unfolds,
the visible phase of it
is but a remnant of these
marvels the soul beholds.
See, the lover matters not,
let the Veil be lifted;
it is that divine show
that all secretly want!
Whether the lover
is unknown or renown,
why does it matter?
Do not focus on the one
who is lost in sacred intoxication,
look beyond his helpless form;
seek the object of his love,
the Cause of his prostration
and move your lips like angels
do during Fajr prayer,
draw closer to the Light
of all that exists and say:
Al hamdulillah ir Rabil Alamin!

© 2009 Aïda Touré. | visualsufipoetry.com

Description: 36″x24″ acrylic on canvas. “Guiaalala” means “the light” in Gisir, my maternal dialect. This piece is about the flamboyant dance that pervades our being as we mingle with the wild things Light does. It’s a celebration of our bewilderment with The Beloved. The poem I incorporated in the painting was written in French, for its English translation, please see below . It took me three months to complete this painting. Year of Creation: 2006.

~ Guiaalala (the light) ~

She observes the spectacle
of your magnitude,

Humbled by appearance’s
insignificance, her reign

mingles with the Presence
that wants her.

In her, a luminous Voice:
“Come back to Union!”

And in seven dimensions
this lover evolves toward us.

O! Divine, O! Beloved,
Annihilate this ego

Which wounds femininity
and her latitude; between

being and not-being,
She wanders you.

© 2007 Aïda Touré

~ Guiaalala (La Lumière/The Light) ~

Elle observe le spectacle
de ta magnitude,
humiliée par l’insignifiance
du paraitre,
son règne s’assimile
à la présence qui la veut
en elle une voix lumineuse:
“revenez à l’Union!”
et dans sept dimensions,
cette amoureuse se chemine
vers nous…
O! Divin, O! Bien-Aimé,
anéantissez cet égo
qui meurtrit la fémininité
et sa latitude,
entre être et non-être,
elle Vous parcourt!

© 2007 Aïda Touré