Zain Alam "Meter & Light: Night"

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 10, 2024, 6-9pm

Zain Alam and his collaborators will be producing Meter & Light: Night, a 3-channel audiovisual installation which enacts in miniature and in music the interlocking rhythms of time in Muslim life, specifically after sunset. These rhythms are inherent to rituals such as prayers marking last light, sleepless recitations for the Night of Power, retreat to sacred shrines, the forgiveness of debts, and the breaking bread for all to share at dawn.

This is the second part of a series of installation works investigating the senses of time as lived in practice by Muslims. Drawing upon the artist’s formal training in Islamic studies, personal experience in the Sufi tradition, and as a composer, the installation depicts the cyclical measures used to mark the passage of light, seasons, and spiritual revelation.