Artist Designs Space for All | National Geographic

In the whole time that I've lived in Pakistan, I may have gone inside a mosque maybe five times, and it may have been only because of tourism. So, I've never actually gone inside a mosque to pray. That was a public space that could have been a world of creativity for women, but they are not allowed to be in there culturally.

Taking that world of creativity that was kept away from me, I'm using that to create this. My awareness of the Alhambra was from a very early age. Being there, I kind of realized how important that architectural space is for both the East and the West, because that's where the East and the West met. The artisans were not just Muslims; they were Jewish as well as Christians who were brought in because of their ability to create beautiful environments.

In my imagination, or romantically, I kind of thought, what a beautiful jewel set in time, with all of these things happening around it. It's created this metaphor of Union, and then to compare it to our times now, it became very relevant in my opinion to use it as a symbol where we can maybe strive to be at that moment again.

So, Al Hamra became like a linchpin to create the project around. The photos are what I used to remind myself of what I had seen and then draw from that. So, they allow me to not have an exact replica, but it allows me to create an interpretation of the design that I saw.

I wanted to use a really strong light that would really shine and create strong, crisp shadows. So, the wattage on this bulb is about 600 watts. The object is small, but it has this big presence because of the light. So, it changes the environment into this Cathedral-like space or a mosque-like space that becomes extremely full.

So, it's no longer that object that's only six and a half feet square, but it's like encompassing the entire space. When I walk through it, of a new walkthrough, it becomes very experiential because the light casts the shadows on our body, so we become part of the environment.

It allows everybody of every denomination, color, race, creed, sexuality to be in that space because it's a place of beauty. People are coming to see it because it is creating an environment that makes them welcome in it. That, to me, is very important.