‘Food’ as a new perspective of art

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

Contemporary art has always drawn the attention of the UAE and its innovative artists, who put excessive efforts in shedding light on the traditional and modern artwork, in order to introduce the world to the creativity and talent of youth in the UAE. Throughout the years, the UAE has supported and sponsored many gifted artists, and encouraged the emergence of their work by providing workshops and art centres to improve and showcase such talents.

The innovative, Syrian housewife and artist Nisreen Wakil is one of the first artists to display art in a whole new perspective of her own, using food materials to come up with astonishing artworks, in an attempt to introduce a new type of art to the youth of the Emirati community.

“The idea of using different materials in my artwork is to stand out and think outside the box and come up with creative ideas that draws the attention of art lovers,” Nisreen said. She stated that it is important for artists to always present new and modern art forms to the world, and encourage those who stick by traditional art to be different and break the routine of art-making.

One of Nisreen Wakil work made from food products.

Nevertheless, one of Nisreen’s innovative artworks that included a mixture of acrylic and oil-paint is a portrait made out of food materials, such as lentils, rice and macaroni, and coated with colours and aluminium foil.

She said “the making of this specific portrait was to create something new by using exciting materials. Art is a huge sea of creativity and this portrait reflects the various forms of art that artists use to present their talents and reveal their inner-thoughts.”

Following the footsteps of her father, Nisreen was brought up in an art-loving family who encouraged her talent and supported her dream of becoming a prominent artist and leave a mark on the Emirati community. She has participated in many exhibitions, in an attempt to display her artwork and teach the children new methods of creative painting.

Throughout the years, Nisreen has been teaching children from the age of 8 to 14 how to draw and make handicraft accessories. “I chose to work with children in order to teach them how to make use of their spare time, and help discover and improve their creativity at this young age by  creating artworks using very simple materials” She said.