‪Performances of portraits: Ubiquity, minimality, and proximity with pictures of a late Sufi Sheikh‪

Résumé 0

In this article I explore some of the choices and practices of portrait placement at work in the lodges of an affluent Sufi movement in Europe, focusing in particular on the widely disseminated pictures of the movement’s founder and late figurehead, Sheikh Nazim El-Haqqani El-Qubrusi († 2014). I suggest that noticeable differences in the number, size, format, and style of the portraits (or what I am calling the ‘performances’ of the portrait) can be understood as statements regarding the sorts of spaces where they are found. Accordingly, I pay attention to several different strategic, symbolic, spatial, and decorative investments, as well as to measures taken in the presentation of the portraits of the Sheikh, which I understand to begin as ways of counteracting the potential risk of accusations of heresy or idolatry by mainstream Sunni standards. I show how such measures can also translate into forms of decorative enactment of ideals of Sufi discipleship –not least of which, the invitation to maintain a connection ‘in spirit’ with the Sheikh, as well as cultivate the intimacy of feeling ‘at home’ in his presence.