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RIYADH: Pakistani artist Zainab Anwar's compelling work is characterized by vibrant colors and surreal depictions of South Asian and Arab cultures, with a focus on addressing challenges faced by women and girls in society.

Anwar, 24, was born in Pakistan and moved to Saudi Arabia when she was 8 years old. She spent her formative years in the capital and attended Manarat Riyadh International School. She left the kingdom at the age of 18 to study at university in Canada and has since returned.

“I grew up here with people from different cultures. However, I often did not see families from different cultures interacting with each other. At school South Asians and Arabs interacted with each other but I saw no media representation of this.

“I felt that our communities outside of school were completely separate. This led me to create cross-cultural work. To represent the experiences of South Asians in the Middle East.”

Anwar began his artistic journey by portraying Pakistani women in various settings.

“I later started drawing darker and hairier women because I felt that these were qualities that brown women were ashamed of. I saw girls at school bullying each other over such beauty standards, both Arab and South Asian girls.”

Art has been an outlet for her during times of dealing with mental health issues.

“Later I started using surreal art to depict the difficult feelings and experiences I had with my depression and anxiety. Growing up with a stigma around mental health, it took me many years to understand these feelings. And creating art on it has helped me deal with such feelings.”

She added: “I believe art can help bring light to difficult issues and also bring a sense of peace to people suffering from such social problems and mental illness.

“I discovered that society has difficulty dealing with experiences that all women and girls face, such as sexual harassment and unrealistic beauty standards.”

Bright and colorful backgrounds are Anwar's artistic signature. “The main source of inspiration for the colors I use in paintings is Pakistani culture,” she said.

“A form of art used by truck drivers in Pakistan is called truck art. Truck drivers decorate their trucks with bright, contrasting colors to draw attention to them. I was drawn to these trucks from a young age and I think this has led me to use bright colors in my work.”

Anwar's portfolio showcases an experimental use of various media including ink, pen, photography and traditional art forms such as embroidery. Her current preference is to use acrylic paints for her work.

Although she depicts aspects of South Asian and Arab culture, Anwar says women tend to relate to her art regardless of where they come from. “They can understand the many universal experiences of being a woman that I portray in my work. People also appreciate cross-cultural work and see it as a reflection of the society we live in.”

Anwar says she tries to capture the full range of human experience in her work, including joy and sorrow that is “important to society, to both the artist and the viewer.”