SARAH AHMAD x "OKLAHOMA PARKLANDS: A MEDITATION” IN COLLABORATION WITH FLYWHEEL x BIG BITE @ OKPOP MUSEUM
“Unfold your own myth.”—Rumi
Land splits open, sky spills through
Come, gather in this split open space
Oklahoma Parklands: A Meditation invokes eco-therapeutic principles to forge a sense of interconnectedness with the earth. Oklahoma Parklands: A Meditation uses light itself to position the viewer’s own body as a living support for the shifting imagery of Oklahoma’s public parklands. Spectacular scenery has been digitally altered to create enigmatic images of Oklahoma’s majestic terrain, embracing and surrounding viewers. Ahmad’s ethereal mindscapes are designed to spark spiritual engagement with the earth. For years, Ahmad has sought to impart her own sense of the sublime, restorative potential of nature through immersive art installation—inviting visitors to ‘forest bathe’ or to step inside the wonder of the Veil Nebula.
Like much of Ahmad’s work, Oklahoma Parklands: A Meditation offers a transformative communal space. It presents an offering, honoring nature as a site of refuge and renewal. This expansion phase of Ahmad’s 2022 statewide Stories From the Core installation brings the immersive experience of Oklahoma’s public land to Tulsa’s art district.
Video Collaboration with Brandon Pade. Stories from The Core was a state-wide public art initiative with collaborators—Kara Lynch (May 2021-Dec. 2021) and Maryam Ahmad (May 2021-August 2022).
SARAH AHMAD
Sarah Ahmad is a multi-disciplinary artist and resident Tulsa Artist Fellow. Ahmad's work positions immersive art as a conduit for transformative encounters with the earth. She confronts the effects of (dis)connection with nature. Employing public art in service of community healing, Ahmad’s installations create an eco art-therapy fusion. Sarah Ahmad’s work has been exhibited across the U.S. and internationally, from the Sharjah Art Museum in the United Arab Emirates and Koel Gallery in Karachi, Pakistan, to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. Her work has been illustrated in national media outlets (USA Today, NPR’s Gallery America, PBS NewsHour), art journals (ARTnews, Bomb), and academic publications (American Alliance of Museums, Shahzad Bashir’s groundbreaking A New Vision for Islamic Pasts and Futures [MIT, 2022]).