PEOPLE | interview January 2022 www.womanthismonth.com 62 Digital art is a relatively new form of the medium which has been a staple of civilisation for thousands of years. At times it has struggled for legitimacy amongst traditional or even elitist naysayers who see it as inferior to ‘the old way’, but with a new generation of supremely creative artists and a growing acceptance of technology, these attitudes are diminishing. This comes as no surprise to those who have seen the work one of the Kingdom’s young, enthusiastic creators, of which Layan Raed Al Samahiji represents the pinnacle. The visionary artist creates futuristic digital art in a kaleidoscope of colours that merges recognisable locations with celestial imagery and more to create an image that is quite magical… to say the least. The Bahrain Bayan School graduate is currently in her final year studying ¬Business with Marketing Management in Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK. Becoming an Artist Layan’s journey began with her passion for drawing and painting when she was just four years old. “I come from a family of artists of different mediums,” she says. “I was easily inspired by so much creativity and I am so grateful that my mother instilled a love for art in me. I've been displaying artwork on my Instagram account since 2016, but took it more seriously in 2018, right after I completed the International Baccalaureate course in high school and graduated.” Since then, Layan has been able to share her mind-bending art with an ever-growing audience while steadily increasing her digital footprint, and gaining notoriety and recognition in the Kingdom and beyond. “I know my fan base grows when I post regularly as people share my work, reaching many accounts, and expanding my fanbase. I am really grateful to know that there are people who support the effort I put into my work and all of the support has helped me find the lighthouse that illuminates my creative journey,” she says. “I’ve also been able to meet and collaborate with many other great creators,” says the young artist modestly. Digital art can come in many forms including animations, photographs, illustrations, videos, digital paintings and more, but Layan originally started out with traditional zentangle designs. These are meditative, relaxing doodles in the form of geometric patterns. “I created various mandalas and zentangles based on my imagination, finding a fun and inspiring idea of different colours and repeating patterns. This was very therapeutic for me,” she says. Exploring the Cosmos “Even though I have had a dramatic change in my art since the start of the pandemic, switching my art environment from traditional to semidigital and bringing all my drawings by hand to psychedelic and cosmic animations was a very big step forward for me,” she explains. The main themes of Layan’s work revolve around Art in another dimension With technology and online platforms consistently developing, every aspect of our lives including art has grown, developed and transcended the tangible world to take on a life of its own in the digital realm. 21-year-old Layan Raed Al Samahiji, one of Bahrain’s finest upcoming digital artists, spoke to Woman This Month about her inspirations, ideas and multidimensional art.
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