Reema Eqab is a 20-year-old artist studying in Pensacola, Florida. She focuses on expressing human emotion through vibrant visuals. This interview was recorded in October of 2017.
How long you have you called yourself an artist and felt secure with that title? What does an artist look like to you? Who do you admire artistically?
Ever since I could remember, I’ve had a big interest in art making, but I actually started to believe in my abilities when I started high school. This is also when I became more serious about it and felt comfortable and confident in calling myself an artist. To me, an artist is one who feels as though they absolutely need to create. A true artist buries themselves into their work, and feels the need to make art like it is dependent on their health and well being. If I’m not making art, then I’m thinking about it, or familiarizing myself with other artists and their work. Some of the artists that I admire include Rita Gomes, Shanna Van Maurik, Joy Miessi, Julia Rothman, and Kindah Khalidy.
Did your ethnic background and you being an artist conflict? Explain an instance. Are there any other artists in your family?
The two didn’t conflict until I graduated high school and decided to try to make a career out of art. I received endless feedback and advice from my family; Mainly from the men. My uncles commend my strong will, because not many women have it, but advise me to pursue a career that would benefit my “future family.” Having kids has never been my interest, so hearing them say that over and over again made me even more headstrong. There is definitely a creative gene in my family, but there are no other artists. In my opinion, most of my family limit themselves by doing exactly what everyone else does/tells them to do.
Have you felt stifled by your family’s traditional ideas of what it means to be a woman? Or their idea of femininity?
This has always been a predominant struggle with my family. To them, a woman is delicate and pure, and her main purpose is to marry, reproduce, and serve the family. I’ve always felt the need to fight this portrayal, and did so by being as unconventional as possible to the people that think this way. For example, I never dress like I’m “put together” or prim, and growing up I would work at my dad’s convenience store, unlike the other girl cousins my age. I hate for anyone to think that I’m weak or there for show; This is not how I see women.
Do you feel like you will have true peace with yourself and your art when you have been ingrained with their ideas for so long? Is there hope for other artists who feel this? What piece of advice would you offer them?
I don’t think that I will ever be fully at peace with their beliefs and ideals constantly clawing at the back of my head, but I use this discordance to my advantage by feeding it directly into my art. I think that the only way for similar artists to succeed through this is for them to hang on to their passions and have a strong, undying will. Without this, there is little hope.
How do you perceive yourself? Is this perception altered when you create?
As well as being strong, passionate, and kind, I am sad and anxious. When I make art, I try to show these emotions, but sometimes I feel like the passion may come off too strong and be perceived as mean or aggressive. I feel that especially when I include feelings of heartbreak or anything political, but I think that in the end everything balances out. I let other eyes see my work, and the response normally matches what I originally intended.
When starting a new piece, do you find yourself repeating any themes? If so, what are they?
Some of the underlying themes in my works include repression, depression, feminism, and heartbreak. I definitely find myself incorporating these themes into most of my art, along with how I deal with them. Art is like my therapy, so everything I feel is let loose in my work.
What do you wish to explore/expose with your art?
In my current state of mind, I wish to make aware certain issues regarding feminism and human decency. I like to show how I believe humans should treat each other, as well as make art that people can relate to. I love helping people, so I hope to help by sharing experiences/thoughts and how I handle problems. In the future, I plan on trying to show more political themes, because most people seem to be under a blind spell and I believe that being aware is extremely important. Maybe my lively and colorful art will soften the informational blow?
What is your struggle with art and society? Art and family? Art and yourself?
I don’t like to rely on people, but art seems to be heavily dependent on acceptance. In order to make money, people have to like your work, and that makes me feel constrained and controlled. A struggle I have with my family and my art is that I feel like I have to hide most of it from them, because certain thoughts or images are ones that differ from their beliefs. Some of my work includes images of the nude female figure, and in order to not receive judgment, I don’t display these pieces, or I’ll turn them around if either of my parents try to enter my room. When I had first started college, my mom was heavily involved in my course schedule and school, and didn’t allow me to take the nude figure portion of my drawing 2 class. My relationship with art is much more comfortable than it used to be, despite the problems that I receive from my family and society’s interpretation of my art. I am able to be this way because I allow myself to be completely vulnerable in my work.
Your work has very pigmented pinks, and are overall very colorful. Yet your text indicates an instance of the male gaze/expectations others project on you. Is this a conscious juxtaposition of subject matter with color or do you just enjoy pink?
It makes me happy to see that someone else notices this! It is definitely intentional, and I’ve always thought that this pairing mirrors the way that I see myself. A glance or a quick overlook of my work implies that it’s very positive and happy, but when looked at more closely, one could see that it’s most likely different from what they thought it was. I also have a true admiration for color, especially very vibrant color, and recently started using pink because I never had before, and I discovered that I really enjoy it. Pink is typically perceived as a “girly” color, so I incorporate it to kind of support femininity in a way.
Do you think art can ever encapsulate the feeling of heartache or the depths of any human emotion? Should it?
There are so many different kinds of heartaches and types of people and ways to handle heartache, so I don’t think that there could ever be a way for art to fully grasp these feelings. Heartache is the main topic in my sketchbooks and more private work, and I follow a lot of pages on Instagram that also include this theme. These people are always able to conjure up a grouping of words in a way that fully describes a feeling I might have in a way that I would have never thought. If art were able to fully encompass this feeling or any other feeling, I wouldn’t be able to see much of a point in making it.
In an age of social media, do you find yourself validating one piece over another due to how many “likes” it received?
Social media is an integral part in the success of an artist. Although I do pay attention to likes, I no longer use this as a factor for judging my work because I am confident enough in myself to know whether or not a work of mine is successful or not. If I was able to learn something from a work that I created, then it is successful.
You also do some work with fabric and embroidery, is this medium more challenging? What do you enjoy about it?
For me this is definitely more challenging. It’s tedious and detail-oriented, whereas, with my other work, I can let loose and produce quicker results. I like making this type of art because anything wearable is typically more likely to be purchased, and it gives me a way to express myself with my appearance. I’ve also learned that it’s a great way to advertise myself. Dressing artistically/wacky makes people compliment or make a verbal note of it, which allows me to claim that I created it, and then most people will ask for my Instagram so that they can purchase or see more.
What song do you think mimics your art/ what song makes you feel an emotion you want to translate as intensely into your art?
There isn’t really just one song that I can refer to, but artists such as Lianne La Havas, Beach House, Lykke Li, and Tame Impala create music that generates relatable feelings that I like to show in my art. I made a triptych print at the beginning of the year called “Sadness, Depression, Anxiety” that contained three quotes from three songs, and I remember admiring the way that those artists were able to creatively construct their words into phrases that perfectly portrayed how I was feeling at the time. This ultimately led to me putting more words and phrases into my own work. I am not so great with words, but I try to be by analyzing music, and following artists on Instagram that make their artwork around their words, such as the artist Joy Miessi. Arabic was my first language, so there are some words that I feel only really and perfectly have their effect when said in Arabic, and this can be a pain because I don’t know how to successfully apply English words as meaningfully. My private Instagram account dedicated to my sketchbook pages helps me acknowledge quotes that I find, and also helps me try to make art out of my own words because this is a big interest of mine.
Thanks for reading and you can find Reema’s artwork on her Instagram: @reemae
andulkaphoto
germansingergirl
amandla
discoholicmusic
blakekathryn
dailybridgerton