Curious Chat #02 with Ichraq Bouzidi
A visual artist on swapping architecture for art, the tug-of-war between modernism and tradition in her Moroccan culture, and using curiosity as a catalyst.
Welcome to Curious Chat!
Each month(ish) I’ll be introducing you to a new person who regularly harnesses their curiosity to do big, creative things. Then I’ll pass the baton, and ask my guest to respond to some questions about their own relationship with curiosity, and we can all hoover up the bits of gold dust their words, and work, leave behind. Curiosity adds color, so here we go…
Ichraq Bouzidi describes herself as a visual artist, but it seems more appropriate to describe her work as a rabbit hole for your eyes and thoughts to get lost down. So intricate are her visual worlds, always steeped in meaning, that each one feels like you’re absorbing a wordless short story when you view it. Every drawn line and detail is thoughtfully injected, serving its purpose, and even the simplest piece of her art will have nods to philosophy, nostalgia, sociology, and politics, all at once.
This level of precision, and the absence of anything extraneous, makes sense when you consider that Ichraq is a trained architect who practiced for a decade before transitioning into the world of art — her first love. But as much as she will acknowledge that her training as an architect still informs how she approaches her art practice today, the time she spent as an architect could best be summed up in a Facebook relationship status: it’s complicated.
I started drawing at the age of six and was very passionate about it. But pursuing a career in art was out of the question in my home. So, I chose architecture to please my parents. I worked for almost a decade as an architect before taking the plunge in 2018 when I quit, and decided to pursue my passion.
Bouzidi first dipped her toe into the art world waters by submitting artwork to two competitions in Dubai, where she was living at the time. She ended up being selected for both, and she’s never looked back — this early validation was her sign that she was finally heading in the right direction. Fast-forward to 2023, and her star continues to rise.
Grazia Magazine recently named Ichraq as a female Arab artist diversifying the industry, identifying her as one of a handful of artists who are “playing their part in elevating art and NFTs in the Middle East, as they slowly but surely gain prominence worldwide.” Adding diversity to the art world comes naturally to Ichraq since one of her central motivations revolves around translating the push-and-pull of her Moroccan culture and heritage into art. As Ichraq told Arts Illustrated:
There are two main representations in my work; the modern minimalistic figure, and the traditional Moroccan figure, reflecting our complex identity as North African and Arab women, struggling between modernism and tradition.
This isn’t the only dichotomy you’ll find Bouzidi exploring in her work, however. Conflicting emotions, and navigating the duality of human existence, is a consistent theme for her. “My art is all about emotions and feelings… [and] duality and identity are at the core of my art practice,” she’s said. After more than a decade of trying to balance her family’s expectations with her personal ambitions, it’s easy to understand how art has become a form of catharsis for Ichraq — a way to explore the stickiness of life, both at home, and in broader society.
Depending on what she’s trying to express with a piece of work, Ichraq will (impressively) choose one of five different art mediums that fits her aims best — illustration, painting, installation, sculpture, animation — or sometimes, a mix of multiple mediums. “I think of art as a conduit of shared experiences that mostly go beyond what words can express,” she’s said. With her ability to switch seamlessly between so many mediums, what Ichraq may lack in words, she clearly makes up for in expressing herself through artistic talent.
You only need to quickly scroll through Bouzidi’s Instagram page to marvel at the variety she’s capable of producing stylistically. But what’s truly unique is her ability to use space (no doubt a nod to her architecture days) and build entire living, breathing worlds within a single image.
For example, the physical claustrophobia of being boxed-in is palpable in these images.
And that same claustrophobia is equally palpable in these open spaces, except this time it’s of a self-imposed nature, rather than structural. (Again, another dichotomy.)
You’ll also find a lighter style meditating on childhood, parenthood, and personhood. But don’t let this visual airiness fool you — the images are still steeped in meaning, providing the viewer with a full story to contemplate.
Occasionally you’ll even find Ichraq creating pieces that are odes to famous artists that most of us will be familiar with, like Yayoi Kusama (who recently launched a collaboration with Louis Vuitton), famed Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and Edward Hopper’s iconic Nighthawks piece.
(Most of the above pieces are actually digital animations, so I highly encourage visiting her page to view the works in their full representation. All individual links for the pieces shown here are at the bottom of this page.)
Currently living in Toronto, Canada with her young family, Ichraq has further channeled her artistic energy into a new role as the Public Art and Cultural Planning Manager at STEPS — a charity focused on transforming urban spaces into vibrant places through cultural planning, community arts and artist capacity-building programs.
However, taking time to settle into her new home abroad, her new job, and motherhood, has meant a small break from creating art for public consumption. But in December, Ichraq returned to Instagram with new work and, undoubtedly, new life experiences she’ll be ready to translate into art. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing her next phase.
Ichraq Bouzidi’s theme of exploring duality even extends to curiosity, which is very on-brand. Not only is her art driven by curiosity, but it’s also capable of inspiring curiosity in others. Win-win.
So, over to Ichraq for some Curious Chat…
(A quick note on format: a few of Ichraq’s answers are one-word responses, and that’s because of how I formatted the interview. In hindsight, that’s a flaw, and I will work on fixing that with future guests.)
Do you consider yourself a curious person?
Yes, definitely.
How does curiosity play a role in the work that you do?
It all started with curiosity. My overall practice starts with curiosity, and is driven by curiosity in order to tackle people’s curiosity. It [my art] always starts with a feeling, and then that gets shaped into an idea, and then it becomes a visual I can execute.
In general, does curiosity begin on a micro or a macro level for you?
I would say micro. Something very specific will catch my attention, and then build outwards.
Do you consider curiosity an essential building block in your personal well-being?
Yes.
What are you currently most curious about, and how do you explore this curiosity?
I'm curious about everything, to be honest. But if I try to link that to my practice [as an artist], then maybe complex feelings best tackles my curiosity the most.
(Side note: Years ago, I told a guy on a date that I paint my emotions when he asked about my abstract paintings. He laughed and said that sounded embarrassing, and advised me not to say that out loud to anyone else. He didn’t last, obviously, and I now feel vindicated seeing that Ichraq has made a career out of doing the same.)
When you dismiss something as "uninteresting", do you then take a minute to reflect on why you're not curious about it?
I hadn't thought of doing that, but now I will.
Do you experience curiosity as mainly intrinsically motivated, or extrinsically motivated?
In general it's mostly intuitive, and instinctively motivated; so probably intrinsically motivated.
Have you experienced a time when you lost touch with your own curiosity, and had to work to get it back?
It often comes-and-goes
What do you wish more people were curious about?
Life in general, and themselves. I think if we could be curious about ourselves we may dig deeper and discover plenty of hidden things.
Do you have a "guilty curiosity"?
Yes, I'm fascinated by cats 🐈 😻 🐈⬛️
[You’ll notice that cats often pop-up in her work! Like in this one.]
A big thank you to Ichraq Bouzidi for being part of Curious Chat! (And for ending things on a strong cat emoji note.) So much of what she creates sparks my own curiosity, so that will be something to explore in a future post. Until then, let me know in the comments what sparked your curiosity with Ichraq’s work, or you can email me here!
If you enjoyed Curious Chat, I’d love it if you’d share it with a few friends who might also enjoy a bit of curiosity in their inbox!
References:
Images used in this post:
Image 1 — Image 2 — Image 3 — Image 4 — Image 5 — Image 6 — Image 7 — Image 8 — Image 9 — Image 10 — Image 11 — Image 12
Ichraq Bouzidi’s full Instagram page is here.
Extremely inspiring!