A flock of birds crosses the evening sky. For a moment, hundreds of bodies gather into a single form before separating again. Its appearance depends on a temporary arrangement. It will soon disappear and the evening sky will remain as it was, but slightly different.

In Hasan Ali Kadiwala’s work, this movement is deeply tied to memory. His landscapes are held together by birds, rivers, animals, village houses, families, and fragments of Arabic and Urdu writing. He does not present a fixed image, but rather reconstructs it through recollection. In Bustan-e Marifat (ﻣﻌرﻓت ﺑﺳﺗﺎِن, “Garden of Knowing”), childhood memories, spiritual experiences, stories, and encounters with animals, coexist without settling into a single narrative. The flock of birds appearing during the Azaan (َأَذان), the Islamic call to prayer, is particularly striking. The word Azaan comes from a root associated with announcing, proclaiming, or making something known. Its voice travels through the same air as the birds:…