My art practice is mystical and connected to poetry, music, mythology, ecology and philosophy. I work upon different media: sculpture, ceramic, paper, glass and canvas.  I also work from a kayak, surrounded by mangroves and the sights, sounds, smells all connecting me to my work.  I like to add fragments to the canvas as they help personalise the spiritual feeling of my use of colour.

I explore the subject of mangroves as a means to generate awareness of the destruction of my homeland Syria and environmental concerns.  There is a link between conflict and overdevelopment.  In an age of global warming mangroves do not get the attention they deserve either in terms of their beauty or their ecological importance.  I have found the mangroves a source of power, beauty, energy and simplicity.  I intend to do my part to protect our mother Earth and to generate peace and love on land.

However, I believe that the mangroves art project will succeed when I exhibit as part of a group of artists, gathering a range of media and artists to make a celebration and a festival of art in one show.  O’Sullivan writes “what becomes important is what an art work can do”.  The beauty in a piece is not only in its aesthetics, but in performing a function to make an imperceptible feature perceptible.   

With the upcoming Mangroves from the Water exhibition in Geelong, I aim to exhibit art work using new media and technique including glass and hessian.

I gained a Master of Visual Arts (Monash University) in 2011 and I’m currently a PhD student at Deakin University aiming to investigate Mangroves from the Water.

Please visit my website www.zahidahart.com