Sheikha Al Habshi is a Kuwaiti painter and illustrator who’s work delves into the psyche of the Kuwaiti society and specifically the expectations and myths put on women.
Sheikha’s paintings use her intuition as her guiding force in her practice and to drive every creative decision. She uses highly colorful and stylized forms to deconstruct and abstract the world around her. Her current paintings are made with acrylic paint that acts as gouache which allows for the painting itself to flow easily while still allowing for the ability to layer.
This way of intuitive painting was inspired by the weavers of Sadu. Their way of creating a piece of Sadu was completely innate experience, which Sheikha has tried to emulate in her current body of work. The use of meditation play a guiding force in her work as the emphasis the importance of intuition within the human psyche and the importance of listening to oneself. By growing up in Kuwait, She has recognized that a lot of aspects of many women’s life’s choices and decision are up for deliberation and constant scrutiny. From choices of marriage and family to ownership over ones body and time. Her work is an approach of taking back that voice and choice and use this practice of instinct to guide every artistic process; from brush strokes to color choice and so on. This way of painting becomes a meditative experience as she is able to transcend her environment and allow myself to embrace every possibility and to give the viewer that same feeling of wonder and freedom.
SHEIKHA AL HABSHI
Sheikha Al Habshi (b.1999) is a Kuwaiti Illustrator and Artist with a BA in Interior Architecture. As an illustrator her work focuses on the dichotomy of women and other marginalized figures seen in Kuwait and the Middle East, and how these figures evolve in digital spaces as well as in more conservative settings. She uses her art as her own way of taking up space, raising questions of gender roles and traditionalism in a culture where privacy plays an important role. She expresses a more abstract style and take on these issues in her paintings as she uses abstract forms to process and understand the world around her and the beliefs and pressure put on women in the region. Sheikha runs an online shop selling her art and various products as a way of supporting her artistic endeavors and sharing her art with the world.
