Entangled Light

Entangled Light, also presented as ربطِ نُور, is a solo exhibition by Sobia Ahmad at Hamiltonian Artists. The immersive multimedia installation combines experimental gelatin silver photographs with hand-processed 16mm film to explore an ancient Sufi parable about moths drawn toward a flame. The exhibition connects the moth’s attraction to light with the artist’s work in the darkroom, treating artistic practice as a spiritual search shaped by uncertainty, experimentation, reverence, and revelation.

Ahmad uses analog photography and film as both creative methods and metaphors for transformation. Her biodegradable photographic processes incorporate homemade developers made from materials including kitchen compost, coffee, washing soda, salt, and plants. Chemical residue, light leaks, fingerprints, and tonal variation are allowed to accumulate, making chance and error part of the work. In collaboration with an entomologist, Ahmad photographed and filmed moths and attended evening mehfils, where Qawwali singers preserve the moth-and-flame parable through poetry and oral tradition. Images of Ahmad’s hands appear alongside those of the entomologist and the devotional gestures of Qawwali performers.

Through repeated photographing, developing, altering, and reprinting, the installation considers repetition as a form of seeking. It brings scientific observation, spiritual practice, and embodied artistic labor into conversation, proposing that knowledge can emerge through remaining open rather than moving toward certainty.

When: September 19–October 24, 2026

Venue: Hamiltonian Artists

Artist: Sobia Ahmad

Mediums: Experimental gelatin silver photographs and hand-processed 16mm film

Opening reception and exhibition walkthrough: Saturday, September 19, 3–6 p.m. RSVP required through the event page.

Program: “The Flame Calls the Moth: Music, Poetry, and Qawwali,” Saturday, October 3, 1–3 p.m. RSVP required through the event page.

Program: “Devotional Poetry Workshop,” Saturday, October 24, 4–6:30 p.m.

Artist background: Ahmad was born and raised in Pakistan and moved to the United States at age 14. She earned an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2024, along with a B.S. in Community Health and a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Tickets: Price not available