Hatiq Mohammed merges East with West and old with new, embracing new approaches while retaining time-honoured traditions. By Peter Gould.
During a recent visit to Dubai I was fortunate enough to catch up with UK-based digital artist Hatiq Mohammed, aka Teakster. I was eager to sit down with him as we both share an appreciation for digital art and have shared ideas together for some years.
Hatiq has always been inspired by traditional Islamic art and calligraphy but, having a contemporary flair for design, has set about merging Eastern and Western styles to create unique pieces of artwork. His belief that technology is shaping the way we live and experience the world around us resonates deeply with me.
We are living in a digital age, and creating artwork in a new digital form opens up so many previously inaccessible doors that used to be impossible with traditional media. Hatiq is quick to add that there are, naturally, many people who complain that digital art is not real art as it cannot compare to the feeling of creating something new and unique with a traditional piece of work.
However, he embraces challenging this long-held idea by producing pieces that fuse the traditional with contemporary digital art, demonstrating that these two diverse styles can co-exist in harmony under the umbrella of visual art. “The digital age has definitely been a positive addition to the artist’s process, and it’s here to stay,” he says.
With his ever-increasing global following it is refreshing to hear how humble he has remained. As much as his artwork is an outlet for him to realise his creative vision, he is keenly affected by how people view his art and the effect it has on them. He recalls one of his recent exhibitions:
“I was visited by a person with learning disabilities, with his caregiver, and they stood in my exhibition for hours. I asked why he liked my work and what made him visit. He just smiled and replied with a simple comment: ‘It makes me happy.’ After hearing that, I gave him his favourite piece as a gift, so he could keep staying happy and carry on smiling.”
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