Zahida’s kayak creations breathe new life

Zahidah is exhibiting her watercolour work at the upcoming Bellarine Arts Trail on November 4 and 5.

The Syrian-born artist has moved a number of times in her life, and in this exhibition has gathered a range of sketches from her 17 years painting among the mangroves in Dubai.

For this exhibition, she has organised them into a one-piece mosaic, each placed on a music stand gathered together as if an orchestra. The conductor’s “music book” is a collection of Zahidah’s work and contains 50 watercolour pieces painted inside the Umm Al Quwain mangroves in Dubai’s Gulf region on her kayak.

The “conductor” of Zahida’s display is a large size painting titled “Coffee Morning” and represents Zahidah’s daily world amid the expanse of the mangroves.

Zahidah feels deeply connected to the mangrove areas around the world and her sense of responsibility for them is akin to looking after a family and protecting them.

Zahidah may not be able to stop the war in her homeland of Syria, but she can run a campaign to protect the mangroves and in turn, the Earth.

“Mangroves and sea grass are very effective in reducing the carbon from the air and providing us with oxygen, and so it’s madness to harm them,” Zahidah said.

Zahidah is a master’s graduate in Visual Arts from Monash University.

A thematic artist, her work focuses on humanity and nature, influenced by mythology, poetry, science and philosophy.

Her work often highlights forgotten issues.

Zahidah has worked almost entirely from her kayak in the Dubai mangroves, sketching water colours upon different types of paper. She is yet to kayak along the Barwon River to continue her work, but plans too.

She plays with the form, lines, colour and texture to create the effects of natural energy, playfulness, softness and depth.

For further information, visit zahidahart.com, visit Mangroves from the Water blog at mangrovesfromthewater.wordpress.com, or search Mangroves from the Water on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.