Disruption as Rapture (2016)

This animation commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art responds to a 1743 Indian manuscript in its collection Gulshani Ishq Rose garden of love Written in 16571658 by the poet Nusrati it expresses a Sufi Islamicate tale in an Indic vernacular with the complicated journeys of several pairs of lovers providing a metaphor for spiritual quests Sikanders visual poem with original score takes lifes struggle for truth as its point of departure Animated from drawings Disruption as Rapture highlights the complicated relationship between history and storytelling The collaborative spirit of this works production is reflected in its many elements including South Asian manuscript painting motion graphics Hindu and Muslim lyrical poetry Western opera orchestral music Indian ragas and Gregorian chants