This painting is a meditation on presence, love, and suspended time. It is rooted in the idea that when I am with my mother, a fragment of heaven exists on earth.
 
Heaven is depicted in the background, separated by a geometric screen and an arched gateway, visible yet inaccessible. This barrier reflects the spiritual distance between the earthly and the eternal. My mother and I occupy the foreground, firmly grounded on earth, yet she is shown lifting into flight, gently carrying me with her. Her movement suggests transcendence through love, guidance, and companionship.
In her hand, she holds a pomegranate, a symbol of heaven, abundance, and divine promise. Rather than existing beyond reach, heaven becomes tangible through her presence. Birds accompany her ascent, reinforcing themes of freedom, protection, and spiritual passage.
 
At the top left of the composition, an octagonal clock marks suspended time. Its form references sacred geometry, while its stillness expresses a quiet wish: for time to pause, so this moment and this closeness can endure longer. The painting was created during my mother’s visit from Pakistan, making the act of painting itself an attempt to hold onto fleeting time.
 
The work merges geometric abstraction, tezhib ornamentation, and miniature painting traditions, rendered in gouache on wood at a large scale (30 × 40 inches). Through this fusion of visual languages, the painting becomes both personal and devotional, a visual prayer that honors maternal love as a sacred force capable of bringing heaven into the earthly realm.