Healing Rays

It's summer and I've been enjoying the mini heatwave here in England. Wind back a few months to late autumn last year. I was the subject for the incredibly talented photographer, Suleika Mueller for her brand new zine series called Rays. We met, she interviewed me, shortly after that we did a couple of photoshoots at the London Buddhist Centre and at my studio in North London. Suleika shoots on analogue film and processes them in a dark room herself.

Below is Suleika's description of this exciting project celebrating women who are artists and have a spiritual practice.

"This International Women’s Day I’m releasing the first three zines of my ongoing project RAYS, exploring the practices of London-based Buddhist Ceramicist Sassirika Lam, Sufi Muslim architect Nevine Nasser and Bengaluru-based Hindu dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar.

RAYS explores women whose art serves as both a personal spiritual practice and outward creative expression. Throughout history and across the world, religion and spirituality have often been dominated by male figures and institutions, resulting in the overshadowing and exclusion of women and other marginalised groups in the practice of these traditions. Drawing from my personal experience growing up in a Sufi Muslim community, where women faced restrictions on practicing, art became the transformative medium through which I embarked on my spiritual journey. RAYS pays homage to women who have bravely paved the way for their unique and artistic styles of spiritual practice, celebrating the myriad ways in which creativity serves as a conduit for the divine."

Suleika herself is a super talented, unusual, wise, and spiritual young woman. I was very impressed by her and learning a bit more about her background helped me understand her beautiful qualities. There are a couple of interviews here which give insights to Suleika's personal story and her inspirations.

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/stories/suleika-mueller-rays-photography

https://www.vogue.it/fotografia/article/western-feminism-judges-women-around-the-world-with-bigotry-suleika-mueller-on-the-harmful-legacy-of-extremism

Each of the three zines has its own character and mood, enhanced by the colour theme, the artist themself, and art form expressed.

Suleika saw foresty greens for me, whereas Nevine Nasser's zine has the tones of an arctic glacier, and Rukmini Vijayakumar's pulsates with the hot sunset hues of the tropics.

Launched in March 2024, the limited edition booklets are beautiful objects in themselves.

They are available to view and buy on Suleika's website https://suleikamueller.com/RAYS

I look forward to seeing what Suleika does next. Rays is like sunshine - encouraging growth, giving warmth, shining light on darkness. It's unity and diversity - how rainbow colours appear when light is shone through a prism. It is also healing and restoring of balance. That's the aspiration.

Suleika Mueller is represented by Artworld. Her work is featured in publications such as Vogue, Dazed, Document Journal, Odda, Puss Puss, Cap74024, L’Officiel, ItsNiceThat, Creative Review, Financial Times and British Journal of Photography.