Sirens are, by nature, creatures of contradiction. Symbolically, they are elusive - in every folk tale, they almost always see you before you see them, making them difficult to catch. Conversely, the very nature of the siren is designed to make the victim want to be caught - hypnotic eyes, bewitching dance and trance-like songs lure men to their demise like a starving bull to freshwater.

In Zayn’s series of siren explorations, we see them engaging in multiple acts of ‘drawing in’ the viewer. In Drown Into You, the Siren divides out of her singular body another mirroring image, creating a portal. The eyes of the siren tease the viewer, handing them the keys to the door of freshwater centered in the middle of the drawing. An unsettling feeling rests in the calmness of the brushstrokes that depict the scene, prompting us to ask if there is anything hidden beyond this facade of seduction.

In The Bath shows a siren absorbing the energy from the surrounding waters into her body through her hands. Engaged in ritual, golden polylactide forms sculpted around the figure create once again the illusion of another portal for the viewer to step in to.

In Through The Looking Glass, Qahtani uses the symbology of a siren to depict her own frustration with vision loss. The ouroboros shaped siren boasts an impish smile on her face, holding what seems to be an eyeball in each hand. Her tail forms a circle resembling the inside of an eye - stars shine with a menacing dance of illuminating disorientation in the center of the drawing.