Aina Kurshiah Binti Mohamed Rashid
Malaysian Institute of Art
Malaysia
5 artworks online
artist’s note
I started to draw when I was around 11 years old. I’ve been drawing monotone portraits ever since I was 15 years old. As much as I love focusing on the shades, It strained me to go up and beyond through experiencing emotions in people.
During the studies in MIA, my style changed from monotone setting to more humorous, colorful and flamboyant aesthetic to portray my sense of self-expression. I got stuck to express the inner conflicts and I felt about myself in becoming artists that explore on emotions. I also recognized my prolong fear of colours. I gravitated to monotone because it makes me feel safe. But do emotions only resort to safety? I realized I had and still have a lot to say about emotions. I often use Black to describe darkness and sadness, but what if I don’t feel like it anymore? What if darkness isn’t always portayed as being in the dark and light isn’t always about the illumination? And why do people describe Orange as the color of anxiousness and Blue for purity? So I started to shoot my shot and start to explore colours.
I was really interested in human's emotions especially from older and homeless people. Growing up, I always been an outcast in both middle school and high school. The sense of loneliness and withdraw from society makes me realized that I was drawn to be friends with the non conventional people.
I’ve been surrounded by people with mental illness and doctors as I was taking medications and therapies for my own struggle. I have seen people dealing with loses and prolong undermining trauma and stress. It effects how I see people and this world by its entirety: how kindness sort of loses its way into the world we live in today and how much people actually suffered internally. I care for these people as much as I want to help them. And the best way I can truly understand them is to study their skin and learning every folds of it. Just like elderlies, every stress and experiences were carved into the skin and it always has been my favourite thing to draw. Those rough edges around the eyes and the rough texture on the hand can be the indication of senses that have experienced life to its fullest.
After graduation, I begin my own journey into becoming a fulltime freelance artist while focusing to sharpen my illustrative style as well as to further improve my way of expression. My choice of experiencing and expressing emotions are limitless and it makes me more happier as an artist than I was before.
Artworks
