MEET MONA HAIDAR

Mona Haidar describes herself as an image architect who is not fully realised. She is known for her many creative outputs and her exploration of different mediums. Her practice is mostly influenced by the experience of space, and how to capture it, either through a collage or photograph. “I am particularly inspired by surrealism and fictions that feed into my romanticism. My intrinsic intention is to capture moments of emotion within a dreamscape through a layered series of image curation,” Mona tells Fekr. Being brought up by Arab parents that appreciate the arts, Mona felt creative from a young age. Favoring communicating through craft rather than words. Over time, she realised that she most appreciated architecture and the realisation of how experimental the creative sphere is.

A prominent project of Mona’s would be her “Cones & Rods” campaign. Working on it with creatives like Faye ElSeif and Dalal AlMousa was a refreshing experience for her, having an open and natural process. “Every conversation was focused and refined, from selecting the Arabian figures characterising the frames to the creation of casts for product shots and the launch event. We were persistent in our experimentation throughout the process in order to avoid conforming to the norms of what people identify as the homogeneity of luxury,” Mona expresses.

Mona’s main inspiration for her project was the theme of the brand ‘an eye for change’, which pushed her to ensure it was shown through the images created. “While composing the film, it was critical that it introduced a layer of haziness to the double-entendres we explored. Placing text over the moving images reflected how the narrative metamorphosed into poetry and metaphors. The film itself is open to interpretation, by decontextualising the stills in and of themselves. Pushing that boundary further, we immersed the narrative into a kaleidoscopic setting, allowing one to now step into it as an experience,” stated Mona.

When asked what were some of the issues faced in the creative world, she told us that there was a lack of representation for Muslim women who wear the hijab, being a Muslim woman born and raised in the UK. Mona also mentioned; “the creative industry has built itself to be inaccessible to Muslim women and even when we’re present on covers, we rarely appear in the credits. I was always one of the few POC’s in the room and the only hijab-wearing women when I first started assisting.” Mona faced issues in her time, which left her craving for a creative community and wondering if her muslim sisters were too, facing these experiences. She stated; “This prompted the curation of Bluem, a platform Salwa and I have developed for muslim women in the creative field at all levels. Our aim is to create a space with a sense of community in which women can expose and express their art with the conversations that surround that. This emphasises the importance in exposing ourselves to one another in order to rise as a collective. “

Also, some changes she would like to see happen in the creative world is a more conscious form of consumption. She tells us how the Arab region is highly orientalised, with us forgetting how diverse and rich our history and culture is. Having new steps towards innovation and progression might help in reaching the standards our past ancestors were known for.

With many impacts from the current pandemic, it was a shock to Mona’s creative process at first. Over time, she has reverted to craft-based forms of creation. She mostly uses her time through visual and literal release by exploring a variety of references surrounding the creative realms. When asked what piece of advice would she give her younger self, Mona told us; “your strength and vulnerability are equally as powerful.”