Q: Who is Rabia?
A: This feels like such a weird question to answer, but here goes! Rabia is a confused twenty-one year-old student*, majoring in French, History, and Ancient Cultures, who grew up in Joburg, Muscat and Abu Dhabi. Rabs likes looking at art, watching strange series, learning and unlearning, listening, using emojis, and observing. As a kid Rabia wanted world domination, then to be a table, then to be an Egyptologist, then to work in fashion, then to be an airhostess, then to be an organic farmer, and now Rabia doesn’t know what to do, but knows that happiness is the goal.
*going to be twenty-two on November 14th (yay!)
Q: When did you begin to really embrace your form of art?
A: I don’t remember not drawing or doodling on pieces of paper, or when I should be listening in class. I’ve always done art at school, or in after school classes, and we’ve always had art supplies at home. I really started taking doodling seriously when I came to Stellenbosch. In first year, 2015, it was my way of making sense of everything that was unfolding around me. In second year I posted a series of introspective doodles on Instagram for a month, and they were really well received by my friends who encouraged me to start my own drawing account.
I’ve also grown up around cameras with my mum always taking photographs. After a break of nearly ten years, I’ve started taking photos with a film camera again. Last year I bought a faulty second hand Holga lomography camera online, and I’ve been experimenting a lot with it this year. I prefer taking candid shots of friends and of places I find interesting over taking stylized photos.
Q: Would you say that your art serves as a form of expression? If so, please provide some examples.
A: It definitely does. I often find myself drawing as a way of understanding what is happening around me and as a way of reflecting on what is going on around me. It helps me to see the thoughts and feelings I have on a piece of paper, because then I can start to understand them. Two examples I have are the ‘buzz words that make people buzz’ drawings I’ve done, and a drawing I did just as winter was ending called ‘frühjahrsmüdigkeit und ferrweh’, which are two delightful German words which mean, "the sense of listlessness brought on by the coming of spring and the longing for far-off places." As spring was starting I found myself feeling terribly unmotivated and really dreaming for an adventure in a far off place. I really needed a break from Stellies and my world.
Art can also be used as a form of reflection, late last year and early this year I worked with students, artists, activists and other creatives for OPEN FORUM, it was a residency and exhibitions I co-curated with Greer Valley, which looked at the student protests of 2015 and 2016. Everyone who participated used creative means to reflect in various ways on the protests and activism in general.
Q:Where can one locate your art?
A: Most of the work I do is on instagram, I’m currently working on a website where people can look at the drawings I do, and order t-shirts I make which have my drawings on them.
My doodling instagram is: @rabs.does.doodles and my main account, which is mainly photography is @rabzia_
Q: What do you consider to be the most important bit of information that any type of artist should be aware of and put into practice?
A: Keep practicing, keep working, keep trying to make your art better, and keep pushing yourself to work and think outside of the boxes you’ve created for yourself and that society has put you in. Always ask yourself what you can improve on but don’t be afraid of failure. Make sure you are uniquely you, that you work constantly and that you always push yourself to create. Time out and being in a funk is okay, and when you find yourself with a creative block it is important to find the things that reenergize you and get you excited about being creative again.
Q:What does Womxn of Soulitude mean to you?
A: Womxn of Soulitude is such an important space, with everything constantly changing and fluctuating around us art and creative spaces are not given the attention they need. I think Womxn of Soulitude changes that. It provides a platform for the creative arts to be celebrated, and it provides a platform for people to engage with artists, creative work and with other people who are interested in the creative arts. I love that the emphasis is on womxn who are engaged in art in the many ways you can be. This platform is important in creating a community of engagement and creatives, which is so necessary.