Instagram artist Ashwaq Abdulla
With the average person spending almost an hour each day on Instagram, we talk to the Emirati artist making sure some of the content we see is a force for good
Over 20 per cent of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon rainforest. So when Emirati artist Ashwaq Abdulla was confronted with images of the bio-diverse jungle on fire, she new she had to do something. As a social artist, Ashwaq uses visuals to communicate important messages, and her Instagram account is a tool to capture people’s attention, stop them scrolling for a few seconds, and think.
A powerful animation showing “the lungs of the Earth in flames” did just that, and at the time of writing Ashwaq’s animation had been viewed over 7,000 times. “I saw a picture of animals burnt and I was shocked,” she explains, discussing what prompted her to create the piece. “I felt sad and hurt at how we could leave this to happen. I know we are very far away but at least I can create awareness for people who are around me that we have a huge responsibility. We have to save the planet.”
Although she notes the physical distance from some of the issues she highlights, Ashwaq says that social media has, in many ways, allowed us to close that gap. As long as we are posting content that people want to see, there are no boundaries to how far it can reach. “Instagram helps me to share my work and communicate easily. We can share things that people in the United States or Japan can see, so it’s a great tool to spread the word and my work.”
And it’s not just the reach of content that has changed. Ashwaq says that the world is increasingly communicating through visuals, which, as an artist, helps her to get her message across. “I think people get fed up of talking and reading and listening. I have to be honest with you, I don’t talk and speak that much. I like to express my feelings by using visuals and [the effect is] much stronger,” she explains. “Images can sometimes have more impact than words. We are in a very different world now. This generation is about everything moving fast. There is no time to sit and read. That’s why visuals are very important, and they can make people understand an idea even better.”
As well as using her art as a social awareness tool, Ashwaq is also keen to showcase the UAE. Many of her animations display the country’s leaders, vision, and heritage to the world. It’s particularly important for her to show people what’s so good about her home country – “I would like to deliver [the message] to the world that we are peaceful,” she says.
Retaining the culture of the UAE is also a very prominent theme in her artwork. “I’m trying to bring culture back to the community,” Ashwaq explains. “For example the traditional Emirati clothes, the traditional Emirati food or the way of life. It’s important to save it.”
One of her iconic animations was to mark Emirati Woman’s Day. An image of a woman holding a child, books, a laptop, her country… things that represent the diverse roles of Emirati women. Ashwaq describes the image as “appreciating the first woman who is raising us, which is the mother at home. So it’s appreciating for the old generation and the new generation. The woman, the student, the workers in different jobs, and women saving our country.”
When it comes to representing women of the UAE, Ashwaq is doing a good job of being a role model herself. She was recently chosen to design the trophy for the world’s longest-running women’s-only professional tennis tournament, Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in California. This is clearly a monumental achievement as an artist, and the excitement in Ashwaq’s voice is clear when she talks about it.
“A trophy that is made in the UAE and lifted in the United States means a lot to me,” she beams. “And also representing that we have Emirati artists, we have creative people, and we have talent. Also we are exchanging this culture with other countries.”
All of this is fairly remarkable given that art isn’t Ashwaq’s fulltime job. She currently works in the government sector doing PR and marketing. Everything she does is during her spare time, after working hours. “I’ve been an artist since I was a kid. I think it’s a gift from God,” she says, explaining that her passion started at about 4-years-old when she would draw at home.
This love has continued throughout her life, and now she spends a lot of time visiting galleries and museums, taking as much joy from other people’s art as she does in creating her own. It’s little surprise that, despite drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, her drive comes from within. “What makes me have the passion to focus on art and spread my message to the world is myself,” she says. “I support myself to reach this level and move forward.”
With over 40,000 followers on Instagram, exhibitions under her belt, and now global recognition for her work, Ashwaq is proving that wherever you are in the world, whatever you do, and whoever you are, it’s possible to get your voice heard. And if the message you are spreading is one that will hopefully make a difference to our society, however small, that’s got to be something worth sharing.
“I felt sad and hurt at how we could leave this to happen. I know we are very far away but at least I can create awareness for people who are around me that we have a huge responsibility. We have to save the planet”