About the artist
Mariam Hussein is a London-based British Syrian artist who works across a range of visual materials, including painting, drawing, spray paint and collage. Her practice is driven by experimentation, imagination and a determination to keep making.
Her work is inspired by everyday life, memory and imagined possibilities. As part of the Syrian diaspora, she sometimes imagines what her life might have been like if she had grown up in Syria, alongside other places, experiences and possibilities.
Mariam holds an MA in Contemporary Art from Sotheby's Institute of Art and a First-Class BA in Business and Marketing Management from Oxford Brookes University. Her work has been exhibited across London, Oxford and Slovenia.
FOLLOW my art journey
I make visual work using whatever materials feel right for the idea. This can include oil paint, pencil, spray paint, collage, or even biro. I don't have one fixed medium, and I'm always experimenting based on my gut instinct.
My relationship with art has been complicated. After studying Contemporary Art History at Sotheby's Institute of Art, I reached a point where I resented art so much that I destroyed most of the work I had made and stopped creating altogether. This was probably not the most productive response, but there we are.
Eventually, I needed art again. I returned to making as a way of processing my thoughts and feelings and gradually fell back in love with it. A lot of my practice now comes down to one thing: not stopping. I regularly want to give up, decide something is terrible or convince myself I should be doing something else. Part of the process is continuing anyway.
My work is inspired by everyday life, memories, things I notice and things I imagine. I often use art to think about possibilities and imagine experiences I haven't had. As part of the Syrian diaspora, I sometimes think about what my life might have been like if I had grown up in Syria. I'm just as interested in imagining other places, lives and possibilities. I don't see my work as an attempt to recreate anything perfectly; sometimes I just want to see where an idea goes.
I don't work within one fixed set of themes, and I don't always know what a piece is going to be about when I start it. The materials, ideas and subjects change. What stays the same is the need to experiment, challenge myself and keep making.
The main thing is not to stop.
ABOUT MY PRACTICE
