Supha

Maïmouna Patrizia Guerresi is a photographer, sculptor, and video and installation artist. In 1991, Guerresi traveled to various Muslim countries and converted to Islam. This triggered a new direction in her work, raising recurring themes of multicultural symbolism and feminine spirituality. Supha hangs from the ceiling, draped in fabric. The white outfit is reminiscent of Sufi mystics, who through meditation and trance enter into direct contact with the divine. The figure’s closed eyes and floating position suggest spiritual introspection and material detachment. The work’s title is a word coined by the artist and combines sufi, a practitioner of Muslim mysticism, and safa, “purity” or “clarity” in Arabic.