Tehuti's Gems © 2011 Aïda Touré

Description: 18″x24″ oil & acrylic paints on canvas. It was an immense pleasure to work on this painting entitled “Tehuti’s Gems”. This new painting is part of the series “Luminous Dark Matter” which celebrates the attributes of the feminine principle. My intention in developing this series relates to Balance, to Origin and most of all to the divine attribute of Mercy. The title of the piece came from my reverence for Tehuti (as) who, in the Sufi tradition, is one of the ancients who transmitted Wisdom, Spirituality, the Arts, the Word from the Divine Reality to mankind. Below is the poem that goes with the painting.

~ Tehuti’s Gems ~

After millenniums of revelations,
manifest through the Sun and
its human forms sent to nations,
we have come again for Love,
guided by the cosmic drums
that pulsate with the heart,
we embrace the collective self,
tending to its effulgence,
with all our tenderness,
we unravel in your consciousness;
our presence is timeless,
we are Tehuti’s Gems.

© 2011 Aïda Touré

Kaniaga Bliss © 2010 Aida Toure

Medium & size: 22″ x 28″ oil & acrylic on canvas. To purchase prints click here.

Description: “Kaniaga Bliss” imposed its colors from the start. I deeply enjoyed working on this painting that took me on a nostalgic yet ecstatic journey. I worked on it in four phases, I laid the different layers and then applied the details and let them dictate their own movements. The lady depicted on this piece is a metaphor for the soul of Kaniaga. “Kaniaga” is in Mali, it is the birthplace of Sufi saint Fodé Sahnoune Touré, my great grand father.

~ Kaniaga Bliss ~

Kaniaga, we have loved you
from the moment we were born,
you are the membrane
of our soul;
the orange cloak
you wear is our glow,
you are wrapped around us
always, even from afar!
Kaniaga my love, my Dad’s light,
we still whirl with the Night
that offered the healing Tree,
still growing from the heart
of the Heart itself.
Al hamdulillah!
Now your very Scent
draws near,
O, I must end this here!

(c) 2008-2010 Aida Touré

Amina~Disamu © 2010 Aida Toure

Medium & size: 24″x30″ oil & acrylic on canvas. To purchase prints, click here.

“I was made to love three things from your world: women, and perfume, and the comfort of my eye is in prayer.” ~Prophet Muhammad (saw)

“Paradise lies at the feet of Mothers.” ~Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Description: in a dimension that is ruled by ego consciousness, the attributes that gather, unites and thus mold us to embrace love are suppressed. The suppression of these spiritual attributes so naturally embodied by women, has been applied to all institutions governed by falsehood. The feminine principle which has always been revered by all prophets (as) and sages of all ages has been repressed for subtlety, mercy, gentleness, sensitivity represent true power for they propel, revolutionize, heal and restore balance and truth through Love. To encourage the cultivation of these sublime qualities, I wanted to work on a series of paintings about the feminine principle in its original manifestation on Earth.

“Aminata Disamu” is the second painting in the series “Luminous Dark Matter” that started with “Kemet Incandescence”. It is through cultivation of the feminine principle’s attributes that the human soul reaches enlightenment. All the richness inherent to higher  consciousness constitutes a natural resource whence the importance to revere life and the soul, that woman channels with such grace!

The feminine is the catalyst to authentic life, as she restores prosperity, truth and harmony on Earth through love.

~ Amina~Disamu ~

Behold our queen of light!
She who has rung the bells
of our ancestral mind,
she who has kept
the genius of the tribe,
she is the ascendance
from Kemet to Ndolu.
O Disamu,
strum your Harp’s strings,
surround our essence
with the cosmic lake’s Music,
unleash your healing peace
in the waters of our being,
let us hear you converse with Ruh.
O Disamu,
our warrior queen,
you lead the way
toward Divine Majesty!

© 2010 Aïda Touré. | visualsufipoetry.com

Kemet Incandescence © 2009 Aida Toure

Description: I painted “Kemet Incandescence” for the album cover of

Ancestral Devotion

“Ancestral Devotion”, the new CD

by Jazz musician Lonnie Plaxico. The piece was inspired from Africa’s ancient art that captures the spirituality of African culture, its reverence for the feminine principle and the sacredness of music.

In experimenting with this different yet ancient genre of two dimensional art, I experienced such proximity to my roots, I plan to explore it more. Through this painting, I wanted to honor the sacred feminine as well as the origin of the spiritual tradition of Light now known as “Sufism”.

~ Kemet Incandescence ~

Inner lamps all lit,
a billion ecstasies
are now speaking of Hu;
each, gracefully interweaving

in the Universe’s womb;
whispers of light are induced
in the pure child’s mind
through the rays of Shams,

royalty bestowed by the Divine.
You see, nobility never exiles,
although ever coveted by the fallen ones,
it dances in and out of these truths

the African genius has laid like gems
in the depths of humanity’s collective self,
yes we are these muses who bore
Kemet Incandescence,

through our Harps, Flutes and hands,
revealing the Music of the spheres
the pineal gland is immersed in:
Bismillah ir Rahmanir Rahim…

copyright 2009 Aïda Touré.