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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 44 APRIL 2021 L I V E + P L AY CONTACT pem.org/exhibitions/zarah-hussain-breath Hussain holds equal space for her loves of geometry and traditional Islamic art, and of coding and computers. "There's a lot of sympathy with Islamic art because it's based on math and algorithms," she explains. But Hussain has used math and algorithms so efficiently in the Breath exhibit that all you'll notice is the calming energy of the "It's really powerful and profound work. It's definitely multidimensional." "By the latest research I've looked at," explains Hussain, "the perfect breath is 5.5 seconds. It's a deep breath—5.5 seconds in and 5.5 seconds out." After just a few minutes, these breaths begin to soothe the body. Hussain has artistically represented her "perfect breath" through the three elements of the Breath exhibit: painting, animation, and sound. The exhibit immerses viewers in a tide of inhales and exhales, and encourages them to follow along. You'll see Hussain's paintings of the visualization of breath, which she calls a sort of "holy geometry," and you'll also experience an evocative animation and soundscape, encouraging you to experience your own "perfect breath." "We live in a world where we are constantly on," says Hussain. "There is such a benefit to just slowing down and being quiet." Growing up, although Hussain remembers being fascinated by art class, she never learned about non-Western art until a postgraduate program she took at the Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts. "We never looked at anything beyond the West, this tiny little area. I was aware that there was something beyond what we were being taught," she says. "I just knew when I looked at these beautiful mosques, there had to be a theory… a way of understanding it, of deconstructing it." shapes and sounds synchronizing with the perfect breath. "The ancient traditions I've looked at [including Chinese qi and Indian prana] say you shouldn't measure your life by the days and the hours—you should measure your life by the breaths you take," says Hussain. "Because the longer and the slower and the calmer the breaths are, the better quality of life you have. And it's about quality of life, not length of life." Zarah Hussain explores breathing through painting, animation, and sound. PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATHY TARANTOLA, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST/PHOTOGRAPHY BY NAVID AKHTAR PORTRAIT