Tempo’s Sharon Carvalho speaks with mother and artist Laura Talhaoui who tries to find a balance between her two passions. The French artist has established herself in Abu Dhabi but her experience and inspiration, she says, come from being born and raised in Paris, living in London and from every city she has visited.
Laura says that being a mother of three always comes first but that she always tries to find time to create and share her gift with others.
“The thought of creating imaginative worlds for others to enjoy and appreciate is what drove me to become an artist,” explains Laura. “An artist has in their hands a wonderful way of communication and self expression and they must share this gift with the world.”
Moroccan inspiration
As well the cities she has lived in or visited, Laura finds inspiration from the things around her.
“Life itself is my greatest source of inspiration. I learned to look at the world differently, to pay attention to the simplest things such as the rising sun, the colours of spices, and the wind blowing on a palm tree.”
“The Moroccan culture plays a very big part in my artwork. From Islamic designs to the richness of traditional fabrics, Morocco abounds with countless things to discover as well as various talented artists.”
“Most of my work revolves around the ‘Khamsa’, also known as The Hand of Fatima. To my knowledge, not many artists have chosen this symbol as the main part of their art. Being a mixed media painter, I also use an extensive variety of materials such as plaster, glue, glitter, paper and so on, combined with all sorts of paints to build up texture and relief. My work is a combination of naive, abstract and folk art.”
Exhibitions and charity work
Getting the public to view their work is always difficult for artists, so Laura was proud to be one of the two UAE-based artists to exhibit at the recent London Parallax International Art Fair.
“In my opinion, one of the main challenges is to get your work noticed. It needs to provoke a reaction from the viewers, an emotion or maybe just curiosity.”
“I have exhibited my work at the Millennium Hotel in Abu Dhabi and participated in the ‘Guess the Artist’ exhibition at Ghaf Gallery in 2010. I also take part in charities as much as I can, including the K9 Puppy Ball in Dubai.”
Motherhood is her other great joy, but sometimes she finds balancing her roles as a mother and an artist like being on a tightrope, and offers this advice to budding artists.
“You need to be totally dedicated to your art. It’s a very long, tricky road. It requires a great deal of work which can stay unknown or unappreciated for a very long time. But being able to paint freely on a daily basis is truly the biggest reward of all.”
“W. Clement Stone once said, ‘Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star’ and I believe that this is one of the greatest quotes ever as it is applicable to so many life experiences.”
To find out more about Laura, go to her website www.lauratalhaoui.com.
