FACT discovers that Shouq Al Mana’s art is all about black and white.

With her monochromatic art pieces, Shouq Al Mana, approaches the expression not as a steady tunnelling toward oblivion, as figures and other obvious objects fall away, but as something more dynamic. There is no such thing as pure form; her abstract art is rooted in experience of the real world.

With more than 17 group exhibitions to her credit, Shouq is a Qatari visual artist who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in 2017. Majoring in painting and printmaking, her practice includes painting, installation art and sculpture. She has been exploring the use of gestural abstraction and body language to emphasise the story behind the artworks, and her interest in the presence of culture and poetry in contemporary society.

Shouq exemplifies both spatial awareness and structural painting processes, letting the paint drop down, and altering her works in unexpected ways. There’s this notable effortlessness to her work as an artist. There are no vibrant colours in her pieces, they’re mostly based in monochromes, yet they speak volumes of her creative aesthetics while stimulating conversations about Qatari culture and its identity.

It’s the open-endedness, perhaps, that has kept abstract painting a key element of modern art for nearly 100 years. Standing before one of Shouq’s paintings, there’s a sense of push versus pull, expression versus impression. There’s a strong gravitational force to the work — the question is if that force is pulling you into the painting, or if the painting is reaching out to you. The best thing about abstract artwork is that people tend to form their own connections with the piece.

FACT speaks to Shouq to discuss the layered intricacy of her works — how the pieces pull you in with beauty or technique, but keep you there as you puzzle through their totality.

What inspires your painting style? Why did you choose a monochrome palette as your statement?
My art is inspired by culture, poetry and nationalism. The collections that I create reflect different times in my life, for instance, ‘A National Statement’, a collection I created in 2017, was inspired by the blockade of Qatar and the powerful wave of nationalism as well as patriotism that followed.
I have always been interested in different aspects of the past; traditions, clothing, films, et cetera – so that’s one of the many reasons for choosing a monochromatic palette, but I would say the main reason is because it gives artists a lot of space and creative freedom.

How did you know this was the path you were meant to be on? How do you incorporate visual arts in your pieces?
I think for me, I knew this was the path that I wanted to be on after I discovered art movements such as abstract art, gestural abstraction, conceptual art and minimalism and came across the work of incredible artists such as Jackson Pollock. It inspired me to further explore this field and apply to Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar to study painting and printmaking.

What’s something that is essential to your creative process?
Ensuring that I stay true to myself as an artist is essential and that every art piece that I release is something that I am very proud of.

How has your work evolved over time, do you see a significant change in how you portray elements and concepts?
As a student, I was experimenting a lot with various concepts and themes and found a lot of joy, gained knowledge and experience by doing so. It definitely impacted how I found my preferred method and style eventually.

What do you think about minimalism, do you think it is a phenomena taking over the creative world at large?
I believe minimalism is a powerful method to employ as more people become open to it. I have noticed new branches under minimalism forming and I am excited to see what the future holds specifically in Doha’s booming art scene.

Where do you hope your art will take you in the future?
I hope that I get the chance to collaborate with more artists. I had the honour of working with respected artist Ali Hassan last year, and it was a very memorable and enriching experience.

You’re an exhibition design co-ordinator at Qatar Museums, how do you think museums play a role in influencing people and drawing people towards cultural roots?
The art displayed in Mathaf (Arab Museum of Modern Art) is artworks that we honour and celebrate and thus, Mathaf has a collection of pieces from different parts of the region that pay homage to history as well as culture. Hence, it encourages visitors to reconnect with different parts of their heritage and culture through art.

What advice would you give to young artists who want to pursue painting as a full-time profession?
To never give up and to make art that they themselves are passionate about. ✤