Please meet Laila Elsawi, a 24-year-old artist based in Egypt. Laila has participated in different group exhibitions in Egypt and Germany. Her first solo show was in 2019 Bremerhaven, sponsored by the German UNESCO Commission and Goethe45 Gallery.

Mathqaf: Nice to meet you! Who are you?
Laila: I am Laila Elsawi, a 24-year-old self-taught artist.

Mathqaf: Where and what did you study?
Laila: I studied German and English languages at the Faculty of Languages, Ain Shams University.

Mathqaf: Tell us about your practice.
Laila: I have loved arts and crafts as far as I can remember, but I only started to get serious about studying and practising in 2013. I started to participate in group workshops and exhibitions around 2016. I had my first solo exhibition in Germany in 2019.

Mathqaf: How do you work?
Laila: The moments of visualisation and deep inspirations and realisations are keys to my creativity and the reason behind my creations. I do not merely paint something I find beautiful or interesting. I paint to express my innermost feelings and experiences, my inner world which changes continuously as long as I grow. A peaceful moment in nature, a self-realisation I reached at any moment in my life, music, poetry and literature can be examples of moments that inspire me and push me to create.

Mathqaf: What do you listen to when you work?
Laila: I either listen to very calm dreamy music like indie, folk, dream pop and neo-psychedelia or I listen to pop and dance songs.

Mathqaf: What themes do you pursue?
Laila: Symbolic, surrealistic, driven from nature and emotional.

Mathqaf: What work do you most enjoy doing?
Laila: Experimental and mixed media works.

Mathqaf: How has your practice changed over time?
Laila: It gets freer, symbolic, experimental and in some cases abstract.

Mathqaf: Describe a real-life situation that inspired you.
Laila: It is always about a moment, during or not during a situation, like a moment with my best friend in an open sunny field, when her hands unconsciously take the shape of grass.

Mathqaf: What is your dream project?
Laila: To have an exhibition in nature.

Mathqaf: What do you do outside your practice?
Laila: I always have a side job where I can use my language skills and some other skills and to make a living. I love to travel and explore new places on a monthly basis.

Mathqaf: Why do you do what you do?
Laila: Art is my way of self-expression. When I have something to express or to say, I create.

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