In 2016 you graduated from the Frank Mohr Institute. How did you develop further as an artist after that?
“I grew up and studied in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After that, I started studying at the Frank Mohr Institute in 2014, so I have been in the Netherlands for ten years now. Before graduating, I made large-scale, loud and chaotic work. The subjects I painted came from my imagination and were about a certain discomfort. After graduating, I did a number of residencies, such as in Rotterdam and Oisterwijk. It was stimulating to meet other artists, which I still do. I have had a studio here in De Biotoop for seven years now. Now I paint what I observe — the moments of peace and comfort in my daily life.”
How do you translate your daily life into a painting?
“It is a process of looking, feeling, thinking, remembering, referring and painting. I try to find special observations in the everyday, not in the grand. I pay attention to formal art elements such as light, colour and shape, but also to the moment of being. I am fascinated by all kinds of different types and colours of light. As a reference, I take photos with my phone of scenes that I find special. Over time, this forms an archive. I often think back to a certain moment and how something looked then. In the spring, after all the winter grey tones, for example, a bright yellow forsythia blooms first in my street. The vibrant yellow of the flowering tree shines directly into my eyes when I walk into the street. I have taken photos of this over the years. I have also built up a kind of archive of my son in which you see him grow up. After the birth of my son, there was an endless pile of laundry that had to be done. In the light that shone on the drying rack where the different coloured garments were hanging, I still found something beautiful. I often think back to a certain moment, the photo I took then and certain qualities in the light and the colors. These moments simmer in my head like a stew on a low fire. And then suddenly there comes a moment when I want to paint it.
I am currently painting with acrylic paint on linen. I usually work with oil paint, but now that I am pregnant I do not want to use turpentine. In Bangladesh and on Frank Mohr I have also worked a lot with acrylic paint. I lightly touch the canvas with my brush and I am crazy about the brush strokes that a brush can make. I then mix the oil paint with turpentine or the acrylic paint with water. I like the texture of linen that can be seen through the paint. As a base I use a warm yellow tint that always shines through somewhere and I sketch directly with the paint on the canvas. I hang the canvas I am working on next to the large windows for the best light. All my finished canvases stand with their front against the wall, because I always want to make something new and not get distracted by what I have already made.”
What can be seen in your solo exhibition at Kunstpunt?
“At Kunstpunt I show work that I have made in the past two years. There is also work on display that has been made with different materials. It is more focused on the domestic moments and the cyclical nature of the everyday. I really try to observe and find value in the little things. In different seasons and times during the day, the light can shine very differently. This also evokes different moods, resulting in different shapes and shades. Just like the blooming forsythia as a sign of the beginning of spring, my solo exhibition is also about zest for life, paying attention to my immediate surroundings and finding value and beauty in it.”
The solo exhibition All about love by Anika Mariam Ahmed can be visited to 31 May in the Kunstuitleen of Kunstpunt. All works can be borrowed and/or purchased.
This article previously appeared in KUNST. magazine #3 (p. 8)
✍️ Kim Vermeulen
📸 Siese Veenstra