Shahad Nazer
The 22-year-old artist and advertising major, Shahad Nazer, shares an openminded approach to both her art and her view of the world. Whilst Shahad’s artistic expression is elegantly inspired by Saudi culture and the societal experiences that surround her, her work also includes injections of cultural diversity and Western art influence. It oozes beauty, a sense of female empowerment, confidence and dreamy interpretations of the world.
A hybrid of Saudi, Egyptian and Turkish origins who resides in Saudi, Shah ad feels strongly about remaining open-minded and open-hearted, absorptive of multi-cultures and the beauty of people and their differences. In her work, Women Are From Venus, Shahad portrays precisely this. In a very feminine way, Shahad presents Arab women walking in space on planet Venus. Shahad’s floral prints imitate great Dutch painters from the 17th century, such as Jan Brueghel the Elder, which are contrastingly placed yet charmingly composed with Middle Eastern veiled women and Arabic calligraphy. As a young female, immersed in a creative profession and education, Shahad shines a light on the strengths and beauty of women as well as some of the issues they face in the region. Many of her artworks involve eye-catching, aesthetically balanced collages and mixed media, which give way to the perfect medium on which to project her creative mind.
Shahad’s work has been exhibited in the UAE at the Festember festival in A bu D ha bi in May of this year. Her work was admired by many, from audiences from all over the world who thoroughly enjoy her dream-like perspectives and her adaptions of her surroundings and experiences. Her work creates curiosity, leaving viewers wanting to learn more and building their own interpretations and taking their own meaning. Shahad says: “I've been told before that my work translates so many thoughts in people's mind that they couldn't express.”