Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Surrealists and eerie-enthusiasts have been flocking to self-proclaimed “not entirely human” artist Amy Al-Shaikh for her whimsical works of art, now having managed to buy out her entire inventory before Halloween.
Amy, 29, who was allured by the occult’s aesthetic in her early 20s is not exactly what one may expect when interviewing someone who jokingly refers to herself as a witch. Her work, which ranges from tiny ‘skull-ptures’ to ethereal unearthly paintings, explores the darker fascinations of humanity.
However, she notes: “When people first meet me, they always see this bubbly laughing smiling person, which is I always try to represent myself. When they see my art, they are confused. But I simply want to show the beauty of darkness and the darkness of beauty.”
When the morbid millennial is not busy working her corporate day job, she finds a release in designing devilish delights.
The 29-year-old artist started her art adventures as early as she can remember. She credits her parents with the encouragement they gave her to keep practicing. The first drawing she remembers doing is a photorealistic drawing of The Late Amir, His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, which she kept repeating again and again until she got it just right.
Photorealism kept her captivated as she explored different mediums, including charcoal, oil, acrylic and sculptures, until she started university.
She adds: “Surrealism was the perfect way for me to blend photorealism and my love of dark things. I really started bringing this into my art in University after discovering Edgar Allan Poe. I loved the enthralling way he wrote about such darkness. His language and vocabulary evoked an instinctive sense of scariness.”
As The University of Bahrain graduate in Literature continued to build her creepy canon, significant life events nudged her along.
About seven years ago, while she was participating in a small art exhibition, her father tragically passed away.
She reminisces: “He was so excited about this. He always wanted me to be an artist. It was Ramadan and after Iftar he would drop me at the Bahrain National Museum and then pick me up at midnight. As part of that exhibition, each artist was supposed to paint three paintings. When my dad passed away, I was still on the first one.
“It was really hard after that to continue. I would start crying every time I went to paint. I told the curator and while really understanding, she encouraged me to finish at least one piece, for him.”
“To this day, that has been both my most emotionally exhausting piece and also one of my most popular. People have asked so many times to buy it but I don’t want to part with it, yet.”
While her family initially thought her fascination with the macabre was just a phase, she still has the bizarro bug, which she is now channelling into her newfound fascination with sci-fi themes.
Hailing from an Islamic family, she is sometimes criticized and misunderstood on social media as someone supporting Satanic practices, but she clarified during her interview that as far as religion goes she is a Muslim, but likes to explore other cultures through their art.
She says with a devilish grin: “I just love the aesthetic. And I think a part of me enjoys triggering people and seeing what kind of reaction I get. But more than anything, I think people have always been fascinated with the dark side of things. It shows some balance in the universe. My darkest pieces always sell the fastest. My sister, Amani, is more about the unicorns, bright colours and such. But not me. And we both appreciate the other for it.”
Check out Amy’s work and contact her for more information via Instagram: @amyalshaikh.
