Ameni Abida
Ameni is a University of College London Masters Student majoring in Museum Management. When she’s not working on her degree, she likes painting with acrylics and making digital art.
Drawing is definitely a strong coping mechanism for me when it comes to mental health. Something about having the image of my feelings on paper makes me feel better; both the process and the final product are very therapeutic to me. As for the representations, in this collection they’re all words that have impacted me (both positively and negatively). As someone who struggles with anxiety, I tend to hold on to thoughts a lot, and I think that being aware of the thoughts and fighting them with positive affirmations is extremely important. I want whoever sees my work to be reminded of those affirmations and to remember that whatever negative thoughts they have about themselves, it doesn’t represent them. In terms of the flowers, beyond just the aesthetics of it, I see them as weeds that aren’t supposed to grow in the right place (they’re growing in organs after all). The flowers represent the bad thoughts sprouting out of the body, and I think that there is a certain beauty in that. As artists, we tend to see beauty in darkness and badness, and that’s what the flowers represent for me.
You can find her personal Instagram here, her business one here, and her twitter here.