São Paulo – Mandalas, arabesques, Persian rugs, Arabic calligraphy, and the Quran. These are some inspirations for the works of Maryam Souza, a Brazilian convert to Islam who resumed painting during the pandemic and turned what was just a hobby into a craft. After experimenting with different possibilities, she found her path into Islamic art, composing geometric designs on paper with colorful watercolors, crystals, and leaves of gold.
From a young age, Maryam was fond of drawing and fashion. She studied Architecture and worked as a Portuguese and Spanish translator and proofreader. “After I left architecture school, I ceased drawing for a long time, distanced myself from the arts, put it aside, and missed it a lot even though I didn’t realize it,” the artist told ANBA.
In 2020 she returned to painting. She began testing with watercolor, grew fond of it, and then her professional life took a new direction. “I was curious, bought the materials, and took the risk. I started with artistic and Islamic geometry, with the mirroring technique, then I saw a wonderful drawing in the Quran and tried to reproduce it. It went very well, and the whole process was amazing; I was fascinated and started to search more in the Islamic books I had at home,” she said.
After a long time of research and practice, she decided to post her works on Instagram, and the requests started to come. Demand grew, so Maryam took a course on the art market to learn how to price her work and put it on exhibition.
From there, the artist established goals and held her first solo exhibition, “Iluminura,” with 12 works, at the Golden Square Shopping Mall in São Bernardo do Campo from August to November last year. One of the featured works was Al-Kursi, a prayer rug with the Throne verse from the Quran. Maryam put the prayer on audio for visitors to hear as they admired the work. “When I was producing this painting, I thought, if people can hear it, they will be captivated, because it is a prayer that touches the heart deeply, so I took a cell phone with headphones and played an audio with the verse, and it was very emotional, people enjoyed it,” she said.
Last March, Maryam participated in the group exhibition ‘Arts & Women’ [‘Arte e Mulher’] at Art Lab Gallery, on Rua Oscar Freire, in São Paulo. Later this year, her works will be featured in two other exhibitions, in Rio de Janeiro and São Bernardo do Campo. Dates are yet to be confirmed. The one in São Bernardo do Campo, also at the Golden Square Shopping Mall, will be a solo with a series of carpet paintings of different sizes, referring to Islamic prayers and their schedules throughout the day.
Her works have already been sold to several Brazilian states, such as São Paulo, Minas Gerais, the Federal District, Bahia, and Santa Catarina, and internationally to countries like Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The first international sale was to Turkey. “When I received the order, I was paralyzed; I felt I was on the right path because it was a big dream I have, traveling to Turkey to study, it is a professional goal,” she said, referring to Turkish Islamic art.
Instagram, according to Maryam, was the beginning of everything since it was through the social network people became interested in her work, which led to the first national and international orders. “I wasn’t much in social networks, but I created an account to promote my art and learned to use the tools to make videos, posts, and hashtags. I’ve sold virtually all the paintings I’ve posted,” she said.
Maryam continues to study Arabic calligraphy and improve her work. She makes a point of producing the art pieces with the best materials, from paper and ink to frames, Swarovsky crystals, and gold leaves.
“In Islamic art, I feel like I found myself; I don’t get tired, I don’t get bored. You know when you follow your heart?” said the artist, emphasizing the tremendous support she had from her husband and family to keep moving forward.
Born in Bahia, Maryam Souza moved to São Paulo with her mother as a child. At 17, she converted to Islam and married three years later. Today, at the age of 28, she lives in São Bernardo do Campo with her husband and children. The city, located in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, has a sizeable Muslim community.
Now, the artist is producing a series of Fine Art, high-quality reproductions of one of her pieces (opening picture). At first, there will only be five copies to keep the work’s exclusivity.
Contact:
Maryam Souza
@maryam.souza
maryamsouza.com
maryamsouza.art@hotmail.com
+55 11 99190-7740 (Whatsapp)
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
