MEET ALIA AHMAD

Alia Ahmad would simply describe herself as a painter who also has a passion for reflecting on landscapes. She also likes to incorporate and extend her painting practice in multiple ways such as drawings, photographs, and fabric prints. Alia has been fascinated by the creative world from a young age. She used to draw cartoons in class and found herself participating in anything that required an innovative input. The idea of being able to translate her own ideas visually was a concept that intrigued her as a child.

One of Alia’s favorite pieces was her painting “Al Wadi”, she found that this particular piece was eminently special to her since it taught her about the language within her painting practices. “Out of all of the paintings I have done, I think this was the most unplanned piece,” she told Fekr that it had no photographic references or visual direction to follow, and the outcome of the magnificent piece was the plan to abide by a specific colour palette. The inspiration behind this piece was to capture the sunset in a specific setting. In Alia’s interview, she explained the complexity behind the painting, “Also, add the feature of distant trees or structures, to play around with that perspective/dimension and show the viewer a constellation of reference points across the painting. Adding to this, I think it is noticeable with the distance that things become unrecognizable. Which really is the essence of the painting.”

Alia believes that a prominent issue in the creative world is the belief that artists need to have a trademark or concept about their work. She believes that going too deep into that idea can create a kind of ‘conceptual paralysis’. “Getting into that would create some kind of a conceptual paralysis, so do not be afraid to experiment with your work and try new things”. Alia gave a word of advice that she wished she had known before getting started on her career, “It’s okay to take your time with your work. Do not stress about having your work finished. Document the whole process as much as you can, nothing you make and find is useless.”   

Alia’s main form of study is Riyadh's landscapes, she believes that it’s important for her to physically be there to continue her research and practice. “Simultaneously of course by also working in creative spaces and communicating with other researchers in my region.”

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