Image size: 38.7 x 58.0 cm
Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955–2007) was an artist, traditional healer, guru silat (Malay martial arts master), writer, and collector of Southeast Asian artefacts. His was above all a Sufi mystic, and this mystical and ascetic form of Islam deeply informed all aspects of his life and art. This sketch for a multimodal installation in eight parts was conceived by the artist in 2001 and titled Pyramid of Soul: Celebrating Alif. In Sufi meditations, the slenderness of the Alif, the first letter of the Arabic, Persian and Jawi alphabet, is often used as a comparison for the slender form of the Beloved (God). In the final installation, which spans a floor area measuring five square metres, the axes of the Pyramid are lined with four unique assemblages that Mhd Din built from the mid-1990s until 2001. The apex of the Pyramid incorporates another assemblage titled Alif, which Mhd Din made using a tree stump and coiled rattan. The Alif is placed on a wooden base adorned with wayang kulit on its sides and surrounded by over 200 dehusked coconut shells. Each element of the installation bears mystical significance.
