FATMA

This series was inspired by my experiences travelling through the Middle East, where encounters with Islamic traditions, local customs, markets, and everyday life became a source of visual and cultural reflection. Rather than documenting these experiences literally, the paintings translate fragments of what I observed into an imagined visual language.

The recurring fish becomes a symbol of movement, life, abundance, and the unseen depths beneath the surface, while figures of women veiled in the burkha evoke ideas of identity, anonymity, tradition, and the relationship between the individual and society.

The colours, patterns, gestures, objects, and rhythms encountered in local markets and communal spaces are reinterpreted through an abstract and painterly approach. The series is ultimately a personal reflection on encountering another culture, how unfamiliar symbols, rituals, and daily customs can alter our perception of place, identity, and the ways in which human beings create meaning in their surroundings.