By Johara Almogbel

Meet this month’s emerging artist!

Name: Sara Abdu
Age: 21
Occupation: Freelance Artist
Medium: Sketch
Instagram: citizen_saraabdu

What got you started?
I don’t have a clear answer to that. I’ve loved art since I was a child. I think watching Tim Burton films and other cartoons made me want to create something of my own, too.

Why do you do art?
Art makes sense of my true existence; it makes me feel “really” alive.

Is your work the result of sudden inspiration, or long term planning? How do you think up your concepts?
It’s a bit of both. I write down what comes to mind, and then I try to visualize the shape of my words. My concepts usually revolve around human feelings and perceptions, the complexity and simplicity of the things we try to understand. My concepts sometimes appear to be a reminder, which the human soul can feel related to.

What is, in your opinion, the best thing you’ve ever created and why?
None of my artworks can be chosen as the best of what I created. The more I create the more I become critical about my work. I think the rest of my life will be an attempt to create the best I can.

Who are your role models?
I’d rather talk about people who really inspired me and still inspire me. People like Andrei Tarkovsky, Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton, Nina Simon, Frida Kahlo, Zdzisław Beksiński and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

What does being creative mean to you?
Being free.

Favorite piece of artwork by someone else?
There are a lot! But there’s this piece that comes to my mind now. It’s called “Woman with Dead Child” by Kathe Kollwitz.