artBahrain:  You have a Master’s Degree in Political Economy from the American University in Cairo and resigned from your post as Economic Expert at the Industrial Development Centre for Arab States (Arab League, Cairo) to concentrate on art. What do you believe is your ultimate purpose as an artist? Do you feel you have been blessed by embracing the life of an artist?

Nazli Madkour: Switching careers was a turning point in my life. Almost ten years after graduation followed by a rewarding job, I decided to put into question what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I made a choice between two very different directions, and I am glad I made the right one. It was not an easy decision as I had invested so much time and effort into another career while choosing art seemed then was like plunging into the unknown.

ab: What inspires the artist within you?

NM: I am unable list the numerous sources of my inspiration: I am inspired by what surrounds me and what goes on within me. I am inspired by the past and by the future, by what I read, what I see and what I hear and feel.  My work is somewhat a synthesis of all this.

Untitled. 2009
200x150cm
mixed media on canvas

ab: Why did you choose abstract as your creative style of choice?

NM: I believe that the language of abstraction is more adequate for expressing emotions.  Figuration falls more into the narrative, relating a story.  In fact my works fall in between abstraction and figuration; I use abstracted and fragmented familiar forms to investigate an inner world.

ab: When you paint – do you work on multiple pieces at once or one at a time? Do you have a certain time of the day or week to painting? Does your mood change each time you paint or is there a consistent mood that painting inspires in you? 

NM: I paint daily for five to six hours, always in the mornings I need natural light. I usually start to paint on one painting at a time.  However, when I work on a series I would be working on several paintings at the same time. Sometimes I do experience a change of mood and this could move the painting into another direction entirely.

ab: Do you paint from life, imagination, or do the structures in your paintings come out of the painting process?

NM: My early paintings were painted from life. For quite some time now I paint from imagination without a preconceived design. The structures, the composition, the colors, the forms, the textures etc… All come out of the painting process.

ab: Do you draw from paintings, or vice versa? 

NM: I work immediately on the canvas without making preliminary sketches.

ab: Looking at your early paintings, how do you feel when you see paintings which you created 30 years ago?

NM: Looking at my early paintings is like looking at early personal photos, with the same pleasant surprise of recognizing oneself in spite of the change of looks and the adding of years.

ab: Do you think, if you had stayed in the field of Political Economics, would you still be the same person as what you are right now?

NM: What a person does in life definitely shapes  the way he looks, the way he behaves, his dreams, his hopes and his relationship to others. It is not the kind of work he does that shapes him, it is the relationship between his personality, his culture and the field he is engaged in.

ab: In your experience, how do you feel being a woman has affected your painting career, if at all? Have you found any gender differences in this line of work, particularly as an abstract painter?

NM: Being a woman must have a bearing on my work and on my career as well. I do believe that there is a gender difference in sensitivity and in daily logistics, although all schooling systems and education are based on the male prototype and model.  How much of my work is tied up in the gender issue? This is a question that could be better answered by a critic.

ab: Do you still have an unfulfilled wish? Is there still something you aspire to as an artist?

NM: The concept of an art career is completely different than any other fields. You don’t reach the top by moving upwards from one post to the other as in other specializations. You advance through engaging your creativity, intellect, skills and perseverance to reach stations and moments of illumination that could be followed by barren ones! You are not targeting positions; you are just driven by an inner force towards….?!!

ab: You live in Cairo and witnessed the historic Arab Spring revolution, at the same time there was a historic evolution of the contemporary artistic culture there. Can you talk about the evolution of the place?

NM: Living in Cairo like all big cities has its pros and cons. You are in the hub of things. Everything seems to happen in your backyard, which is most trying. Most artists living in Cairo would tell you that since the 25 January revolution, we have been completely drained and out of focus. Artistic activities are picking up again, but there is a breach in the hopes and dreams of people working in the field of the arts and culture. Universal values and modernity are certainly threatened.

ab: In conclusion, can you expound on this statement that is currently posted on your website “every station the artist reaches is soon to become a point of departure.”

NM: “every station the artist reaches is soon  to become a point of departure”: I was talking earlier about how regular jobs follow the concept of ladder climbing going from one post to a higher one while pursuing art  is more like moving from one station another. The artist keeps developing his work and constantly acknowledging his reshuffled aesthetic priorities and accruing skills. The artist is always “in the making” whatever artistic success he is able to reach (and I do not mean fame) he strives for more.  He is always at the beginning of an alluring new road full of promises.

ab