Anwar Mahdi

BIO

Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs from a Filipino mother and an Arab father, Anwar Mahdi navigates their queer identity and Eastern cultures in a society that has constantly alienated them. They focus on retelling their story of abuse, and discrimination by projecting themself onto divine beings, fusing mythological narratives with events in their life in hopes of destroying and challenging patriarchal conservative ideals. Anwar attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and drawing.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Through the use of storytelling and world building I am able to rewrite my story and reimagine a mythological narrative in which power dynamics and oppressive systems are constantly being challenged and destroyed within the pantheons. I focus on celebrating queer bodies of color by allowing them to hold space and arming them with divine power in order to confront their enemies, with the goddess Venus born anew at the helm of my rebellion, thus creating a new world order. Within these vibrant, lush landscapes woven with mythic stories and personal narratives I fuse hyper violence and satire to mock ideas of masculinity that were forced upon me at a young age and threaten the very foundation of patriarchal systems upheld by the gods.

Interview with Anwar Mahdi

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? Who or what were some of your most important early influences?

I’m a Filipinx/Arab artist and I first became interested in becoming an artist when I was about 9 years old competing with my cousin to draw Pokémon from an old tracing book. I’m mainly inspired by Persian miniatures, medieval/alchemical illustrations, as well as illustrations from old fairytales.

A few artists/paintings who’ve influenced my work are Yoshitaka Amano, James Jean, William Blake, Jean Cocteau, Gustave Moureau, and Bosch

Any stories you can share about early memories of how an aspect of the arts impacted you?

It would have to be the old fairytale books I use to look through as a child. I’d spend hours flipping through the illustrations and staring at the fairy wings, and beautiful landscapes.

Where are you currently based and what initially brought you there? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired your work?

I’m currently based in Chicago. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Illinois and relocated to the city for college. Not particularly, aside from the growing amount of DIY galleries. 

Can you describe your studio space? What are some of the most crucial aspects of a studio that make it functional? Do any of these specific aspects directly affect your work?

My studio is based out of my apartment in the corner of my dining room and sometimes in my bedroom, which I find to be very convenient. It allows me to pick up my work whenever I’m feeling inspired, or if i want to change/add something really fast before heading out for the day.

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day?

Sleep in, make some breakfast and probably spend the first few hours of my day bingeing a new show while I sketch ideas out. Lots of breaks in between when I find it hard to focus and trying to engage in other activities that help me get inspired like reading, or playing video games, then continue to draw some more!

What gets you in a creative groove or flow? Are snacks involved? ☺

A nice background show or movie I can zone out to and just work without having to really pay attention, and taking lots of coffee breaks. 

Is there anything that interrupts and stagnates your creative energy?

It really depends on the day, or if I’m burnt out off commissions, and making work for shows

How do you select materials? How long have you worked with this particular media or method?

I mainly work with gouache and colored pencil, and typically have a general color scheme in mind while making the line work of the piece and by the end of it I decide which specific hues I’d want to use to color the work.

Can you walk us through your overall process? How long has this approach been a part of your practice?

I always begin a new piece with a good general visualization of it then try to do a quick sketch of the composition before beginning the final piece. After the sketching phase I make the line drawing with pencil and erase any mistakes before inking it with a water resistant pen. Finally I use w combination of gouache, colored pencils, and sometimes crayons and markers to color and finish the piece. 

It’s been my most reliable approach post college for a few years now and I find it works the best with the way I think.

Can you talk about some of the ongoing interests, imagery, and concepts that have informed your process and body of work over time? How do you anticipate your work progressing in the future?

When it comes to mythology and also creating narratives from my own life experiences I feel like it’s very rich there and there’s a lot of opportunity to mold things into something new.

I imagine my work bigger and bigger, large muralesque paintings that can cover a giant wall, or that can be unrolled like an ancient scroll depicting the end of time.

Do you pursue any collaborations, projects, or careers in addition to your studio practice? If so, can you tell us more about those projects, and are there connections between your studio practice and these endeavors?

Every now and again I get commissioned by musicians to create cover art for their albums or merch so it helps me in a way to discover new ways of creating compositions and sometimes modernizing my imagery. 

I haven’t done many collabs, but I am interested in collaborating with ceramicists who create shapes, or vessels I can paint my imagery on, reminiscent of ancient vessels depicting the death of heroes, or creatures. 

As a result of the pandemic, many artists have experienced limited access to their studios or loss of exhibitions, income, or other opportunities. Has your way of working (or not working) shifted significantly during this time? Are there unexpected insights or particular challenges you’ve experienced?

Since the pandemic I’ve been working on a smaller scale than I’m use to out of convenience and the anxiety of having to share something new every few weeks on social media.

Can you share some of your recent influences? Are there specific works—from visual art, literature, film, or music—that are important to you?

I spend a lot of my time staring at mythological paintings/illustrations as well as ornate Persian miniatures and medieval manuscripts that I draw inspiration on constantly finding a new mythological narrative to reimagine. Circe by Madeleine Miller is probably the most recent novel I’ve been inspired by with the lush descriptions of halls made out of crystals for the gods and facing off ancient monsters to save her son!

Also sometimes I imagine my work looking how Florence and the Machine’s music sounds.

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? What are the best exhibitions you’ve seen in recent memory and why do they stand out?

One of my favorite contemporary artists are Sanam Khatibi her paintings are insane and so ethereal given the content others include, Louis Fratino, Asif Hoque, and Alina Perez amongst others. Truthfully with the pandemic I haven’t been to an exhibit I loved in a while. 

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful?

When you’re getting frustrated take a break and come back to your work with fresh eyes

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you?

I’m currently working on all new work for a two person exhibition here in Chicago at Roots and Culture and I currently have a piece on its way to Berlin for “Come Again” galleries inaugural exhibition.

To find out more about Anwar Mahdi check out his Instagram.