Blank Canvas: Emerging Female Artists From The Middle East: Through their paintings, sketchings and murals each of these emerging artists has their own story to tell. But no matter what the creative process, the Middle East provides a clean slate on which to make their mark on the world

  • CHAFA GHADDAR Lebanese/French, visual artist, painter and muralist “Growing up, my home was surrounded by stunning, inspirational landscapes, which helped...

    CHAFA GHADDAR

     Lebanese/French, visual artist, painter and muralist

     

    “Growing up, my home was surrounded by stunning, inspirational landscapes, which helped me to discover a love for playing with different materials and working with my hands – both major aspects of my work. I have two forms, one is focused on contemporary art and the other is about bespoke surface finishing and wall painting. I have so many artistic influences, but currently I would say English painter David Hockney and American-French artist Louise Bourgeois, plus cave art generally helps to shape my thinking, too. For my murals I have developed a lot of textures, intricate finishings and patterns – I would love to see these adapted to textile form. Whilst I don’t see a direct link between my sense of style and my work, when it comes to clothes I like interesting fabrics with intricate detailing and these are things that help to influence the textures in my art. I am the kind of artist who wants my work to be accessible. I am not expecting everyone to understand it, but I want it to move people even if they’re not from the art world.”

  • MAITHA ABDALLA Emirati, visual artist “When I was little, my mum would proudly show all my relatives my scribbles and...

    MAITHA ABDALLA

    Emirati, visual artist

     

    “When I was little, my mum would proudly show all my relatives my scribbles and paintings and tell them that I was destined to be an artist. That really motivated me, and I didn’t see myself doing anything else. I’m lucky, because my parents have always encouraged me to follow my passion. My style is all about vintage boutiques and bright colours –something that is emulated in my work, which is inspired by memories and by my childhood. When I’m at the studio and get paint on my clothes, which doesn’t wash out, I still wear them, the stains evoke vivid memories, which is the basis of the art I produce. Everyone with a talent has to have something that gives them the inspiration to do what they do, to be able to get across their personality in their work. One of my university teachers gave me a list of artists to study, one of which was Paula Rego, a Portuguese visual artist. She works from memories too, and to see someone who was doing something similar somewhere else pushed me to make my work even more personal, to not be afraid of showing my deepest emotions. My work is essentially a visual diary – it’s hard to open all that up and put it in front of people, there is nowhere to hide and it exposes you. My husband is a filmmaker and he introduced me to art house films, which also inspire my work. So what’s next for me? I want to do my Master of Fine Arts next year – hopefully at Slade in London.” 

     

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