The Shrine

An immersive series of sound compositions exploring Sufi spirituality through sonic resonance and numerological translation. 

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Now Exhibited at MEG, The Museum of Ethnography of Geneva

16 May 2025 - 4 January 2026

The Shrine is a multidimensional sonic project that invites listeners into the contemplative heart of Sufi devotion. Drawing from field recordings of Sufi chants and invocations gathered across Egypt, Senegal, and Algeria, the work weaves together urban soundscapes and transcendent spirituality, creating an auditory journey that bridges time, place, and consciousness.

At its core, The Shrine is inspired by tasbih—the ritual repetition of divine names—and the broader practice of dhikr, through which Sufis cultivate remembrance, purification, and union with the Divine. This project transforms these sacred utterances into sound waves using the Abjad numerological system, where each Arabic letter corresponds to a numerical value. By converting sacred phrases into digital frequencies, the work reveals a hidden sonic dimension within the text, where language, number, and emotion converge.

Through a synthesis of mystical tradition and contemporary sound technology, *The Shrine* becomes more than an auditory experience—it is a sensory meditation on divine love, longing, and spiritual transformation. It reflects Yara Mekawei’s ongoing exploration of the intersections between antiquity and modernity, the spiritual and the coded, the spoken word and its invisible resonance.

The Shrine does not merely represent Sufi philosophy—it embodies it, offering a space for reflection, presence, and transcendence.