About the Artist
I was born and brought up in London, where I now live. My parents are from Pakistan where my extended family lives, so I visit them a lot and this is the one of the reasons that many of my works are a fusion of Eastern and Western culture. Eastern culture is realised in the used of gold and silver, mirrors and sequins in any medium of work.
My work is original in that it is drawn from my memory of my visits to Pakistan, the Middle East and the Lake District (my favourite place) as well as other parts of Britain. I have infused the bright colours of Pakistan into my landscapes of the British Isles.
I also painted a few Urdu and Arabic alphabets in a painting and in another painting I painted the name Allah in calligraphy style in Arabic and a light in the middle, the light means that his presence is everywhere.
My work often also responds to things that happen in the world such as the tsunami, after which I painted After Tsunami, which was my emotional response to it. Another example is of my two paintings Tom's Garden Before the War and Tom's Garden After the War, after I watched TV news reports from a warzone. Also after the Soham tragedy, I Had a series of work Red Riding Hood, narrating this story in a series of printmaking, a sculpture entitled Girls are Made of Sugar and Spice, a large painting (in oil on canvas cloth; 5 feet by 7 feet) telling the Gothic Story of Red Riding Hood and Scream 2 (in intaglio).
I also painted Confusion and Dizzy when one university kept on changing their mind about offering me undergraduate course in art.
My work also shows my happy feelings, such as Dance which is from my happy memories of when I was dancing with my family and friends in Pakistan to celebrate my success in my GCSE and also A-Levels.
I also find inspiration from the stunning beauty of nature. Monet, Van Gogh and Mannet were introduced to me during my GCSE, and I found that I was most inspired by Monet; I made a body of work around his Water Lily painting. The final piece for my A-Level was a mobile installation of floating water lilies made through screen printing that hung from the ceiling.
I have been interviewed by Yasmin Qureshi live on PTV Prime, taking calls from viewers while some of my work was shown on television.
Education
HND Fine Art, West Thames College, London, 2003-2005.
Foundation in Art & Design,East London University, 2002-2003.
BTEC National Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art, Westminister Kingsways College, London, 2001-2002.
A-Level, Art, 2000-2001.
NIACAS, 2000-2001.
GNVQ in Health and Social Studies, 2000.
GCSE, Art, 1998-2000.
Technology College, formally Hampstead Comprehensive School, London.
Am currently attending courses in painting, silk painting and mosaics at the Hampstead School of Art.
London, United Kingdom
Mrs Shaheen: 07958493232
sophiashaheen2013@hotmail.co.uk