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00:00I was having so much fun destroying images,
00:02like intentionally destroying images
00:04and like enforcing the compression
00:06and pixelation on them.
00:08That scratched a part of my brain I didn't
00:10think that I had.
00:18My name is Mozel Hemrani, I'm an
00:20illustrator and multimedia artist
00:22based in Ajman.
00:24I've built my career
00:26as being an illustrator but I've
00:28since then ventured into installation
00:30work and multimedia interactive work
00:32which brings us to Homepage,
00:34my biggest interactive
00:36showcase yet.
00:38I just turned 29 last month.
00:40My background in
00:42art consists of
00:44again being an illustrator for the most part.
00:46I was mostly self-taught.
00:48I did study
00:50multimedia design in university
00:52but it was mainly the
00:54launching pad for me to take this further
00:56and do a lot of self-research
00:58and exploration afterwards.
01:00My love for art started
01:02as early as kindergarten I believe.
01:04In fact I have like
01:06my kindergarten's
01:08supervisor note
01:10saying that, oh she's a good artist
01:12she always gives me drawings. So it was as early
01:14as that. I used to
01:16communicate to people and make friends
01:18with people by like giving them
01:20drawings. So that was
01:22I think the earliest memory of me
01:24using art as a medium of communication
01:26because I go through time periods where
01:28I'm like, I'm sick of art
01:30and then
01:32for whatever reason I go back to it I feel like
01:34it's built into me at this point
01:36like I have to do it, I have to get it out
01:38like I have an itch, I need to like
01:40I need to create something to make
01:42meaning, you know. I feel
01:44like if I'm not creating something then what am I
01:46doing with myself? And it is
01:48it's always a struggle with families of course
01:50like trying to justify your work as
01:52an artist. The more you work hard towards
01:54succeeding in this
01:56field that you chose
01:58the more they will start to believe in you
02:00It was a big mental journey for me
02:02to have a solo show
02:04because throughout my
02:06I've had exhibitions before
02:08but it was always
02:10in group settings so there were
02:12other people showcasing with me and I
02:14wasn't put in the spotlight
02:16so I had like some breathing room
02:18to hide if I needed to
02:20to have like a whole show that I had
02:22to fill up with my own artwork
02:24that was scary
02:26and at some
02:28point very overwhelming
02:30great support from the Tashkir
02:32staff, they helped make this
02:34come true, like I cannot
02:36I cannot emphasize this
02:38enough, like their support
02:40really helped bring this show
02:42to life, like I
02:44a lot of the things that I was worried about were like
02:46figured out for me
02:48by the Tashkir staff so
02:50that really helped out. During the
02:52CPP program I
02:54had made it a point that
02:56I wanted to pursue coding for art
02:58and I wanted to do more
03:00interactive works that
03:02made me explore a lot of
03:04programming techniques
03:06which made me
03:08play with images
03:10more through these programs that I
03:12was creating throughout my
03:14time in the CPP program so
03:16I was having so much fun destroying
03:18images, like intentionally destroying
03:20images and enforcing the
03:22compression and pixelation on them
03:24that scratched a part of my brain
03:26I didn't think that I had
03:28you can enjoy pristine and clean
03:30works and pristine and clean images but
03:32for me I wanted to do the exact opposite
03:34like why don't we
03:36pay attention to the pixelated
03:38compressed images, like the poor
03:40images, the
03:42crude images that once existed
03:44online that we no longer use, you don't see these
03:46kind of graphics used in modern websites
03:48anymore. One of the few
03:50things that I appreciate about this
03:52technology, artists are
03:54having a sensitive time when it comes to
03:56AI and I do agree that
03:58in some instances it shouldn't
04:00make you stray away from your mission as an
04:02artist, you shouldn't fully
04:04rely on it but if it can
04:06help you cut time
04:08cut production time
04:10then by all means you'll be able
04:12to produce more works and put more stuff
04:14out. See traditional
04:16art mediums are gorgeous
04:18and digital art mediums
04:20are also beautiful, like both can exist
04:22at the same time, I'm not
04:24going to
04:26pick one over
04:28the other, I think both
04:30mediums are beautiful in their own terms
04:32my
04:34love for digital media comes from
04:36the fact that I can
04:38easily edit and
04:40pick from a wide array of colours
04:42without having to figure out
04:44the actual physical supplies
04:46for me, as someone who
04:48can sometimes
04:50be indecisive when it comes to the final
04:52outcome, it's important for me
04:54to see the same artwork in
04:5615 different forms, different colours, different
04:58effects, and that can be
05:00easily achieved with digital work
05:02the UAE has had many
05:04grants, many opportunities
05:06available for Emirati artists
05:08and UAE residents, not only
05:10just Emiratis, I was part
05:12of the Sheikha Salama Emerging Artist
05:14Fellowship, which is
05:16backed by the UAE
05:18and it awards
05:20UAE based artists, not only just
05:22Emiratis, but anyone residing in the UAE
05:24and has practiced art in the UAE
05:26can benefit from this program
05:28I work as a Community
05:30Outreach Coordinator for the Sharjah
05:32Art Foundation, which is lovely
05:34because it relates to what I do
05:36outside of my formal job
05:38what I do outside
05:40of my job feeds into
05:42my actual formal job
05:44and then vice versa, I'm very
05:46privileged to have that
05:48opportunity
05:50to work with artists
05:52on my day job, and then also
05:54maybe bring
05:56some of that knowledge outside
05:58when I work on my own
06:00projects, now more than ever
06:02there's a lot of support for
06:04artists in the UAE
06:06so it is very much a viable option
06:08for people to pursue, however
06:10you will have to put in a lot of work
06:12it will not come on a plate of gold for you
06:14you need to have a lot of persistence
06:16and thick skin to break
06:18into this industry
06:20you need to keep practicing whether or not you're getting
06:22the opportunities, and inshallah
06:24along the way you'll find the right thing
06:26that will hopefully put you on the map
06:34Thank you for watching!