School of Creative
Industries
Nur Aisyah Mariah Binte Jailani
Aisyah is a graduating art therapist guided by compassion and curiosity. Embarking on LASALLE College of the Arts' MA Art Therapy programme was a natural synthesis of her formal training in the arts and her will to purposefully serve the community. She holds experience from working and volunteering in the social service space.
Aisyah continues to develop sensitivities to work with clients with dignity. She recognises the uniqueness of each person and aspires to empower individuals through empathy and humility. Currently exploring her deep-rooted interest in spirituality, Aisyah’s thesis focuses on navigating spirituality using art therapy whilst working in hospice care.
Aisyah is a recipient of the LASALLE MA Merit Award.
Work
Kembali
Clay on cotton
Dimensions variable
2024
Kembali is a Malay word that means to return, regain and get back to. Inspired by Islamic funeral rites, shreds of a cotton shroud (kafan) are covered in clay – an ode to the quintessence of material that man is believed to be created from and returned to at death.
Through meditative and introspective repetition, the artist attempts to confront her fear of mortality by handling the very materials used during the dying process. Resembling skin, Kembali symbolises her spiritual return to her convictions as a Malay Muslim woman. This is further accentuated by the flow of artwork towards the Qibla – the direction towards the Kaaba in Mecca which all Muslims face when performing prayers.
Thesis abstract
Navigating spirituality using art therapy in hospice care in Singapore: a qualitative inquiry through a multi-faith and culturally informed practice asserting a Malay Muslim female perspective
This qualitative, practitioner-based thesis accounts a navigation of spirituality from the perspective of a beginning art therapist in hospice care. Contextualised in Singapore, the author aims to make meaning of her intersectional identities as a Malay, Muslim, female emerging practitioner through response art.
An adapted framework delineates her progressive experience from start to end, demarcating phases of somatic discomfort, overwhelm of emotions and reflective deliberation. This is followed by an inquiry into professional competencies necessary in providing respectful and dignified care to clients and their families at the end-of-life. This study underscores the effectiveness, intrinsic necessity and essential requirement for incorporating spirituality into practice for both workers and clients.