Meenaaa?
Why?
What?
Who?
A contemprary mix media artist, specialising in installation making, with interests of devloping my practice with sculpture making and delving more into fine art. I have a prominent interest in curation as I have taken part in many curation-related projects during my university experience.
A 21-year-old artist, whose interests draw from personal experiences, mainly tied to my dominant hobby of travelling. I’ve found that my annual trips to different countries like the Philippines, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Oman, Denmark, Morocco have often made me consider creating a piece where cultures collide together.
Where?
When?
I am based in West Yorkshire, with intestests of branching out further through my creative practice, my dream has always been to display my artwork internationally as I am from a mixed background.
I have been doing art since the age of 14, and have been studying it since then. I aim to continue studying contemporary art and curation further to deepen my knowledge of the different aspects of art and what it can offer. My possible next steps include studying for my master’s or taking a gap year to return to my art with a fresh mindset.
Creating art has always been a source of comfort, something to help me fixate and forget all that’s going on. Completely immersing myself in an artistic environment always provides a burst of excitement and intrigue for even attempting to create something that doesn't exist. That is what art means to me. The desire to build and create new ways of interpreting a particular concept never fails to assist me in driving myself further.
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My approach to my creative practice always stems from personal experiences. These experiences form my attachments to particular concepts, that guide me in deciding my vision for the final outcome for my project. It is more often than not that my inspiration stems from my travel experiences, in which I experience new countries which provide a new lens to approach my artwork. This is thrugh experiencing the different architecutre, cuisine, people, and of course visiting exhibitions in different countries.
It is often that I find myself thinking of the end of the journey before i even start my journey, this process becomes somewhat cathartic as it is very rare for my project to end the way i intended it to, similar to my life experiences. This method keeps me very self-aware in a sense as I have to keep my ideas in check to ensure the success of my projects.
How do my projects actually begin?
As mentioned previously, my projects stem from personal experiences or interests as many do. It is often a safety net of sorts to always refer back and recollect on my memories, something I have explored before and something i find myself continuing to do. This leads me to picking my theme.
My first mission after picking my theme always entails two very specific objectives: providing a sketch for myself, this forces my brain to think of a way to envision how my concept can grow and spiral outwards, and the other is to look at imagery that links to my upcoming project in a favourable manner. This imagery is either found from my personal camera roll or from Pinterest. It is more common that I rely on my own photography as i believe it gives more authenticity to my artwork and maintains my originality-These ‘objectives’ of sorts are done interchangeably but always completed as I believe they are essential in my creative practice.
The next steps?
Once completing my first mission, i usually build from it and repeat the process, sometimes a multitude of times, to keep myself motivated and inspired. Despite this method reading as quite linear it is quite the opposite as I use different materials each time, for example: my current project ‘Moments in Palestine’ started with my primary photography that was taken with my camera during my visits to Palestine. I immediately made sketches of my vision for my final piece. After, I created a range of graphite drawings, biro sketches and oil pastel pieces. This method led me to consider revisiting image transfers- a process I had not done since my A-levels. This allowed me to take the next steps in my project, something that can be looked at more closely on my:
Instagram: @meenaaas_artchive
TikTok page: @meenaaas_artchive
This is what then leads me to look for other artists who have followed with similar concepts or even with a particular concept, this is what keeps me engaged with my project as I look at how other people may have approached a particular concept or process.
Once the main decisions are made, like my concept and medium of choice, all that is left are the experimentations, developments, and a dream 😊
... that being said, this flow for my projects keeps me level-headed and provides less pressure for the final outcome as I maintain the belief that a final piece or outcome can always be achieved when following this ‘guide’, something trailed and tested numerous times in the last 5 years.