Raised in Moscow, Maryam Golubeva is a Russian UK based artist with ancient Turkish heritage and ancestry. She is interested in developing a link between East and West and is passionate about Islamic Arts and Spirituality. Please visit her website and follow her on Facebook today. Aquila Style is privileged to interview Maryam once again. Please look out for her in Kuala Lumpur when the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation MOCAfest happens in Malaysia from November 3-5.
Inspiration is a powerful feeling. That special sense of excitement and spiritual uplifting often comes as a surprise when you least expect it, and thrillingly satisfying especially when how it originates transcends into something else. That transition borders on the divine.
That was exactly what happened to Islamic artist Maryam Golubeva. Dreaming of being a ballerina when she was a little girl, her obsession with ballet took her through hours and hours of practices, those days and nights spent at the ballet school may not have panned out as planned but it certainly grafted something out of the young Maryam. That little thing call resilience.
That’s what art is all about, a marriage between passion, self-belief and dedication. Forget about the never-say-die cliché for a moment, the determination to succeed at the highest level happens on a daily basis for Maryam.
Today, she is one of the most sought after Islamic artist in the world. Carrying a wonderful eye, obsession with technique and equipment, Maryam had most recently appeared at last year’s MOCAfest held in Dubai. And again this year, she will be gracing the same festival when it flags off in Kuala Lumpur on November 3.
Anna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia. After attending the Imperial Ballet School, she made her company debut in 1899 and quickly became prima ballerina. Her breakthrough performance was in The Dying Swan in 1905, which became her signature role. She joined the Ballet Russe in 1909 and formed her own company in 1911. Contracting double pneumonia while on tour, Pavlova died in 1931.
Aquila Style: Who were your greatest inspiration when you were growing up and why did they have such impact on your style and approach?
I was dreaming to become a ballet dancer when I was a young girl, not an artist, which is quite funny. My greatest inspiration at that time was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, Anna Pavlova. Young Pavlova’s years of training were difficult. Classical ballet did not come easily to her. Undeterred, Pavlova trained to improve her technique. She would practice and practice during the night or early morning outside session times after learning during classes at Imperial Ballet School and eventually achieved great results. I was always mesmerised by her determination and willpower and her example has always inspired me in my learnings and my work, even now. I think I was quite impressed by her story I was a little girl and I wanted to be similar to her in her approaches.
Aquila Style: Who are your current influencers that give you the greatest excitement?
I admire a British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor for his gigantic bold ideas that always see the reality. I admire his ability think big and achieve his vision. It inspires me to strive for bigger scale projects and not to be scared of a big size. I also admire Egyptian jeweller Azza Fahmy, who is not only exceptional artists, but also exceptional entrepreneur. She also happens to be one of the few women in the jewellery industry, let alone in the Middle East. Her unique style is a fusion of international cultural references from Egyptian folk culture to the Ottoman Empire and to architectural motifs and the flowing script of Arabic poetry.
Aquila Style: What do you think separates yourself from what is being showcased out there?
I hope it is just the matter of time, as I am very persistent and determined. I also believe that I should talk more about what I do and my current projects, as sometimes I don’t feel right or feel shy when talking about it, but I believe since God granted me with the gift of creativity, I need to bring it to people with the profound gratitude to the Creator.
Aquila Style: What was your biggest takeaway from the Al Jazeera documentary and where do you think Islamic art currently stands in the general art world?
My biggest takeaway happened during the shooting of the film. I was thinking the night before what I was going to say, planning my script and was quite nervous about what I was going to say, but when the Al Jazeera team arrived to my studio in Lancaster, I got so relaxed, felt so supported and spoke from my heart and never needed to look in the script. I am very grateful to Al Jazeera team for inviting me to take part in this project and for their support and amazing experience of appreciation and care that they gave me. This experience in itself was inspiring. Islamic art is a Divine channel that can bring God’s Peace and Love in our everyday life. Of course you can do it through different means, but for me, Islamic patterns, ornaments and calligraphy work best, as this type of art me into harmony and happiness, that I am happily sharing with others.
Aquila Style: Which are your favourite pieces that you’ve done and why?
So far, I think it is “the Magic Carpet”, a gigantic 3 meters by 1.5 meters hand cut paper carpet, that has travelled into different locations throughout the UK and abroad. It is an interactive piece of art and it has been used as an installation/inspiration in poetry making workshops, papercutting sessions, etc, when people were actually sitting on it and admiring it through a direct contact experience. I liked the idea of asking them questions “Where is the “Magic Carpet” going to take you to get them into creative set of mind.
Maryam Golubeva Magic Carpet
Aquila Style: What has been your personal experience of art as a profession and what keeps you going?
For me art is a harmony. This is the main reason why I am doing it. I am learning to stay in this state throughout the whole day not only when I draw or design, which of course is difficult when you have deadlines, emails to answer, business errands to run, and other organisational tasks that can be quite challenging. I think of my childhood role model ballerina Anna Pavlova when I need inner strength and determination and I don’t know any other job that I would want to do with such a passion, so I keep going.
Aquila Style: Are there any big exciting projects coming up in the horizon, and when?
I am currently working on set of designs to be laser cut in metal and I also preparing some patterns for printing. For me electronic format it is a step forward, as up to recently I was working with paper and scissors using hands only, but now I am drawing patterns with Illustrator and Corel Draw, so they could be either printed on various surfaces or laser cut. So at the moment I am preparing a new collection of the unique patterns for printing. I am hoping to reveal them during MOCAfest in Kuala Lumpur during WIEF. Which is a fantastic opportunity for an artist, to make international connections. So, at I am actively preparing for that exhibition in November and I am very grateful to this platform as it gave me a great exposure and an amazing learning experience.
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