Description: This contemporary Kufic calligraphy painting is inspired by the opening line of Rumi’s Masnavi: “Listen to this reed-flute, how it complains.” The text is written with a traditional qalam on a white background, but the Persian letterforms are transformed through deformation, repetition, and changes in proportion to create a distinctive visual composition.

Rather than presenting the poem as conventional readable writing, I reshape the Kufic forms so that the letters become an independent visual language. Their altered structures create a rhythmic composition that moves between text, geometry, and abstraction.

The resulting form also evokes the appearance of a canebrake, creating an unexpected connection between the spiritual character of Rumi’s verse and the visual presence of an everyday object. The white background and expressive qalam marks reinforce the sense of depth, light, and contemplation.

The work reflects my contemporary approach to Kufic calligraphy, where Persian and Arabic letterforms are transformed into visual structures while maintaining their connection to poetry, spirituality, and cultural memory.