Aleena Sharif
Artist Statement
The main idea of my work is confidence. I want to show confident women and promote the idea of living life loud and unapologetically. Creating works and having them around me reminds me of this.
I spent the first half of my life living in Pakistan and the lifestyle I was made to conform to made me very aware of my body and how little power I had in terms of doing what I wanted. There was an expectation of how to act and dress and make myself smaller and that never felt right with me. I always tried to challenge these societal norms as much as I could, but I found by creating powerful works of art I found a way to push those boundaries.
When I paint I have fully nude realistic figures standing in their power. By having this energy, women firstly will see a body that they can connect to that is taking up space and commanding attention rather than hiding away; I would like them to be able to be inspired and start the conversation of "if she can do it, so can I". As well as the fact that it is from the female gaze and painted in a way that is not meant to be looked AT but the figure is looking upon you. By doing this the power dynamic shifts and the viewer has to give the figure respect by looking up at it. So, it's as if the viewer can see the figure is fully comfortable and almost take a breath of relief when they don't have to live up to it.
How did you get started in your artistic journey?
Ever since I was young I was very exposed to art and being creative. My mom is a textile artist so I would see her working all the time and subconsciously pick up a few skills. Then I went to college for Fine Arts, where I was really able to explore all areas including drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and so on. However, during the pandemic, I was then starting to take out time and really focus on creating.
Describe how your art reflects your artistic journey.
I think as I progress in my practice you can see my paintings gain more power. In size as well as boldness of the figures. As I got more confident in my message I was able to bring that into the work. So, most of my work will now be large scale canvases with large bodies taking up all the space and looking down at the viewer in a confident pose. I think also as I start figuring out something I'll try and push it even further, so you'll see some works are mixed media, which means I add in other material.
How did you develop your creative journey?
Once I found the subject that enveloped my soul , which is the nude female figure, I have just been obsessively exploring it from all angles. As I mentioned before I incorporated different ways of accentuating different aspects using mixed media. I have tried different poses, zooming in and out, exaggerating and making it realistic. There are so many ways to approach it and I feel like i haven't even scratched the surface, which is so exciting
What is one piece of creative advice you would like to share?
Don't be afraid to try something. Make mistakes, make bad paintings, throw them away and rip them up but don't not make it.
About the Artist
Aleena was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. She graduated with a BFA and a minor in Art History from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. After graduating she has exhibited in New York , Los Angeles, London, Italy , Pakistan as well as many virtual galleries. Her work explores the nude female figure in different mediums such as oil paintings, sculptures as well as textiles. She currently continues her practice between California and Pakistan where she holds open studies in hope to create a safe space for nude paintings to be shown.
Contact
Instagram: @aleenasharif_art