Description

This richly symbolic painting blends visual storytelling with poetic calligraphy in Urdu, exemplifying Sadequain’s mastery in fusing art and literature. At the center, a male figure—entangled in thorny branches—reaches out longingly toward a distant female figure who holds a mirror, oblivious to his suffering. The scene is set in a surreal forest of sharp, repetitive thorns, suggesting the emotional torment and entrapment of unrequited or obsessive love. The blood on the man’s hands emphasizes the pain he endures in pursuit of an ideal that remains distant and perhaps self-absorbed.

The Urdu inscriptions, drawn from classical poetry, amplify the emotional tension: one speaks of the pain of love, another alludes to delusion and pursuit. The interplay of image and verse creates a layered narrative of longing, illusion, and spiritual anguish. Through this work, Sadequain critiques the romanticization of love and highlights the internal conflict between desire and suffering—a theme deeply rooted in Sufi and literary traditions. Visually dense and emotionally raw, the painting is a stunning embodiment of the poetic madness that consumes the lover lost in his own maze of longing.