The Nest invites audiences to begin with the concept of Alam Al-Ghayb — “the unseen world.” A cornerstone of ancient Arabian and later Islamic cosmology, Alam Al Ghayb, the unseen world, refers to realms of spirit, fate, and divine knowledge hidden beyond human perception. While deeply rooted in Middle Eastern traditions, this idea extends far beyond any single region or territory. Across civilizations, both geographically and temporally, the unseen has taken countless forms and meanings, moving between worlds as a sound, a place, a myth, a carving, or a fleeting sense. Found in nature or encountered through ancestral ties, it remains a shared human experience that insists on being recognized precisely through its visible absences.

Paradoxically, because it cannot be fixed to one image or form, the unseen reveals itself in innumerable ways, stirring unease and prompting us to question our sense of self in the tangible world. The unseen also extends into our daily lives and intuitions, into how we conceal and reveal parts of ourselves, both as individuals and as societies. It lingers in the spaces between what is shown and what is hidden, what is said and what is felt. No longer distant or abstract, the unseen becomes an ever-present force, invisible, yet shaping the rhythms of life. Believed to exist just beyond the precipice of reality and inhabited by eternal truths, it is the very essence of the mystical.

Centering on themes of hidden knowledge and the artist as seer, the exhibition brings together artists and writers from diverse backgrounds to share their unique perspectives, affirming that the unseen world is as varied and multifaceted as those who sense and interpret it.