Movement 4 (2026)

242mm x 384mm

Gouache on Awagami Hakuho Select Japanese paper.

From the A Love Supreme series.

A Love Supreme comprises four night-scene seascapes featuring the natural phenomenon of marine bioluminescence. The paintings adopt the 16:9 ‘widescreen’ aspect ratio associated with cinematic, immersive experiences. Also indebted to musical parts, each individual work is respectively titled ‘Movement 1’ to ‘Movement 4,’ conveying both distinct productions, but also performance as a cohesive, harmonising whole. The title of the suite is inspired by the legendary 1964 album of the same name, by the late American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Hailed as a masterpiece, the record is a powerful expression of spiritual gratitude and creative freedom. It is an album that Madahar listens to while working in her studio as she expresses the idea of ‘seeing the beauty of what remains when the light of the obvious fades’.

The recurring theme of water that develops in A Love Supreme is one that Madahar has been depicting in recent years. This interest stems from engaging with the shared principles of biophilia (an innate love and understanding of the significance of connection with nature) and the water tradition of Taoism (she is a practitioner of the internal energy art form, qigong). Both biophilia and Taoism advocate a non-human centric perspective on the relationship with nature, and the interconnectedness of all things.