By Dahlia Elsayed and Andrew Demirjian 

Imagined by SHINE Portrait Studio artist-in-residence Dahlia Elsayed, in collaboration with artist Andrew Demirjian, “Subtle Centers” is an immersive installation that meditates on the permeability between interiorities and exteriorities, prompting visitors to imagine a space between the physical and spiritual worlds collectively. Transforming Express Newark’s second-floor Box Gallery into an invented outdoor courtyard featuring mirrored reflection, moving sounds, and tangible objects, the space offers an invitation from the material world for greater comprehension and interpretation of the immaterial.

The poetry heard in this installation is based on the “Revelation of the Divine Secrets” by Sultan-ul-Arifeen Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo, written in the late 17th century and translated from the original Persian by Ambreen Moghees Sarwari Qadri. A compact booklet that condenses some of the key teachings of Sultan Bahoo, it functions as a guidebook for seekers of divine knowledge. The artists used computational methods of parsing and analyzing the text to find resonant linguistic and semantic patterns. One approach uses a collection of infinitive verb phrases from the booklet, while another takes form as a permutation poem that lifts one phrase from the text and exhaustively recombines it. Other sequences focus on the role of the heart in the path towards spiritual insight.

Rutgers student Jaila Benson also contributed text based on prompts provided during a visit to Professor Wendell Marsh’s class, Islam in the African-American Experience. The speakers were constructed by Jason Stumpf and Neil O’Brien.