Malik: I was particularly taken by the Italian Gothic art I saw at Barberini in Rome, especially the scene compositions. I'll send you photo references. The ability to communicate a story through divine art, specifically within the Catholic tradition, was intended to convey the stories of Christ to worshipers. I aim to translate the spirit through imagery in a similar way, taking my inner world and expressing it visually.
Malik: While I deviate from traditional divine art by using space for abstraction to explore deeper psychological realms, the church references were inspiring in terms of their composition.
Malik: I made line drawings of these scenes, sketching furiously to capture as much information as possible. Filippo Lippi's religious work was particularly inspiring and significantly influenced many of my pieces. At the Hendrick Christian Anderson Museum in Rome, the sculptures of figures embracing and kissing were especially evocative. Their almost androgynous forms were fascinating to sketch, and I produced many drawings of them.
Malik: These sculptures became muses for me, embodying ideas of figures connecting and coming together. The composition of these sculptures feels like a study of humanity—not just the figurative form, but also a commentary on the human experience, which is what I strive to achieve in my work.
