Artist in conversation: Fatima Zuhair Al-lawati
“my aim is to create art as a powerful tool to convey a message with positive and philosophical meaning behind…”
Fatima Zuhair Al-Lawati is a self-taught artist whose love for art began as a young girl and blossomed into a unique and fascinating journey. With a specialty in black paper art, Fatima has carved out a niche for herself in the artistic landscape of Oman. Intrigued by the stark contrast and potential for depth, she took the plunge into this distinctive medium. Despite the initial challenges, her perseverance led her to develop techniques that made working with black paper easier.
Her work is not just visually captivating but also narrative in nature. Each piece carries a powerful positive message, often hidden, inviting viewers to unravel its meaning. Her unique approach to art has garnered attention from local, regional, and international media. She has been approached by a multi-media company to explore her work further and invited to participate in art exhibitions worldwide, spreading her unique perspective to a broader audience.
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What initially inspired you to become an artist, and how did you develop your unique style?
Let me say something about myself. I, Fatima Zuhair Al Lawati is a self-taught artist from Sultanate of Oman with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration who started art at a young age since childhood, was exploring art in different mediums as her passion, although I didn’t learn art or take any private classes about it, it was a gift from God (Allah) to have this kind of talent.
The main thing which inspired me to become an artist was through specific life events that occurred in the past & to have faith in achieving something extraordinary in order to raise my self-esteem.
My unique style has developed when I discovered in 2014 when I noticed my classmate at school holding a white pencil and sketching on black paper, and that was the moment when I took the chance to explore this kind of art.
Personally, It was really difficult to find a proper white and colored pencils that demonstrates clearly on black paper, but it was a challenge for me to explore many art supply companies til I found exactly what I was looking for, pencils created by Derwent Company that has a unique oil creamy based texture and Prismacolor pencils which have a smoother texture.
Since then & with the enormous support from my family and close friends, I continued this unfamiliar path despite the difficulties with consuming a lot of time and effort to reach the best results.
In terms of subject matter, what themes or motifs do you frequently explore in your work, and what draws you to these topics?
The main theme which frequently demonstrated in my artwork is philosophy that illustrates positive motives, and what draws me to use these topics mainly are stories that I heard or explore from people which inspires me to create each artwork with its own meaning.
Can you discuss a specific piece or project that challenged you as an artist, and how you overcome those challenges?
One of the most challenging artworks so far was by the name of ‘Stories of Alphabets’
The challenge occurred when I started to draw the broken clock and focused on adding Romanian numbers specifically where each line must be equally aligned, successfully, I was able to accomplish this part that I believe was essential for testing my skills in art.
After that, almost 3 months, I had to think of an idea that will fulfill the message in this artwork which mainly talks about Alphabetic letters in Arabic with their own meaning about people regarding their punctuation on each with a hidden story behind it.
I even added a small writing which gives it more value and complete its frame.
‘Scattered Letters, some are absent, some are present,
Every letter of them has an amazing story,
A letter that breaks, another that hugs and another stays in silence,
A letter that has an open mind, another that is empty,
Each of them walks in its own form,
So, beware of the broken letters.’
We're excited to learn more about your unique expertise in creating art on black paper! Could you share how this medium has allowed you to convey powerful messages with positive and philosophical meanings?
With black as a color that has many meanings behind it as it’s one of the main colors that is symbolize luxury, mystery and sadness.
This color being mysterious, had allowed me to get inspired and to create art with a white pencil as this type of color brings joy, happiness and peace this will led people to feel positive vibes despite the black background.
As an artist with 9 years of experience, how do you approach your creative process to ensure that the message behind your artwork is effectively communicated to the audience?
By adding a small writing to each artwork that defines the messages behind it & sharing some hints on my story while completing specific artwork with the followers.
How do you stay connected with other artists and keep up with new developments and trends in the art world?
By following other artists in various media’s & sharing my artworks on Instagram, Watching new art reels, learning how to be creative from other artists and sharing every art post that attracts me personally on my Instagram story.
How do you incorporate feedback from critics and audiences into your artistic practice, and how do you balance this feedback with your own artistic intuition?
Personally, I always learn from people’s feedback & with the aim to improve my art, I try my best to absorb the positive issues and leave the negative critic’s behind, this is the way I’ve grown up.
How do you stay motivated and inspired despite any setbacks or creative blocks you may encounter?
By giving myself space and time to rest until I get back on track with new ideas and inspirations for my next artworks,
Setbacks may occur at any time and may take some period of time until its fully gone, in my opinion I think each artist must know how to overcome those setbacks or art blocks by visiting galleries, watching artists do live art and participating in exhibitions.
How do you feel about exhibiting your artworks with The Holy Art Gallery?
I felt excited and happy as it is my first time participating and exhibiting my art in UK, England.
On the other hand, I noticed how the management team are well organized and how good they are in contacting with the artists and I felt safe exhibiting my artwork without being there physically, so thank you so much for this opportunity and looking forward in joining other exhibitions with The Holy Art Gallery.
Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals and aspirations as an artist, and how do you plan to achieve them?
My long-term goals & inspirations is to be come one of the international specialized artist on black paper and to have my own gallery where others can get encouraged to use this type of art.