Mahir Siraj

Take Your Shoes Off

With an encompassing atmosphere of solitude and quiet grandeur, this painting subtly underscores the insignificance of human dominion in the face of an indifferent yet powerful nature. The monumental mountain, a timeless sentinel dominating the canvas, evokes the primordial setting for profound encounters, specifically referencing the story of Moses' transformative experience with the Divine on Mount Sinai. Like Moses guided to discern the sacred from the profane, the viewer is invited to shed their anthropocentric perspective and recognize a reality that transcends self-centred concerns. The act of taking off shoes, a gesture of reverence before the sacred, finds a visual echo in the viewer's silent contemplation before this majestic scene.

“The Sublime is where the possibility for sacred revelation within the natural universe is shown, and the insignificance of anthropocentrism is revealed.”