Dear friends, please meet Zineb Mezzour, a Moroccan-Swiss visual artist and data scientist. Through her paintings, Zineb expresses her imaginary travel to the undersea, a journey to heal her blues and search for inner peace. She recently had her first pop up solo show in Casablanca. Her work is part of the collection of the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech.

Mathqaf: Hi Zineb! Nice to meet you! Who are you?
Zineb: It’s hard to define oneself in sum. At this particular moment in my life, I see myself as a visual artist, but also a data scientist, or a traveller at times. Who I am continually gets redefined based on the flow of emotions, my reactions to sadness or joy. Through my artwork, I want to share my spiritual practice of letting go and trusting what is to come.

Mathqaf: Where and what did you study?
Zineb: I am a self-taught artist. It all started a year ago in my tiny room in Amsterdam when my emotions were too intense to handle and my creative expression took over as my coping mechanism. The first piece I created is the Manifesto piece. From there I decided to journey into my deepest blues. I use the metaphor of the deep sea to explore my own depth and blues.

I want to continue improving and exploring my practice by furthering my technical skills or trying out new mediums.

Mathqaf: Could you tell us more about your practice?
Zineb: My painting process starts with applying water to the paper, then I let the ink drops travel naturally through the movement of water. My practice puts water at the forefront. I give trust to the uncontrollable movement of the water, as one should trust the uncontrollable nature of life. This technique is very liberating – it allows me to focus on the process of surrendering and not so much the outcome.

On the side, I always keep a notebook to illustrate my artworks with confessional poetry.

Mathqaf: How do you work?
Zineb: As I am about to paint, whenever I find myself in front of white paper, I just take my water and ink and start without any specific intention set. The color I use the most is blue, mainly for its calm nature. It’s also often connected to the idea of the sea, the sky but, blues and sadness too. In my process of creation, I do not predict the shapes I draw or the style I go for. What I noticed after some time, is that one can differentiate my pieces that were created in one same circumstance and those that may have been made before or after. It all comes down to the feeling I had that moment. They share a common energy, movement, and color intensity.

Mathqaf: What do you listen to when you work?
Zineb: Bossa Nova!!! It has enough rhythm to keep me up and sadness to keep me inspired.

Mathqaf: What themes do you pursue?
Zineb: In my practice, I try to heal my blues by, figuratively speaking, diving deep into the ocean and experiencing lightness. My main themes are the self- its construction, deconstruction and transformation: the search for inner peace, for equilibrium, for happiness – the sea and its infinite universe.

Mathqaf: Could you tell us about a real-life situation that inspired you?
Zineb: Last year, I was floating at the surface of the sea, in Scario, Italy. I started looking up, looking down – all was blue. It felt like there was no end to this color. I felt so tiny in between those two worlds, the sky and the sea.

But then, I figured that I am, in my body, my soul, my insides, also a universe.

That moment I felt a deep emotion, and it still inspires me today.

Mathqaf: What is your dream project?
Zineb: My dream project is to participate in a residency, for instance at the Montresso Foundation in Marrakech, and give my full attention to creation. I’d love to expand my technique to explore blue through different water movements and vibrations.

Mathqaf: Why do you do what you do?
Zineb: I do what I do for my own healing. It is my spiritual practice, my own meditation. That’s my way to ease my soul, to not be afraid to dive deep into the place I want to be. When I saw that some people are feeling my art, I felt deeply supported in my own emotional journey.

Check out Zineb’s Website here and follow her on Instagram here.