Yousra Wahba Egyptian, b. 1977

Yousra’s artwork draws profound inspiration from nature, utilizing metaphor to symbolize human emotions and experiences. It captures the ceaseless passage of time, crafting visual memories that resonate the alchemy, wonder and enigma of the natural world. At the core of her work lies an exploration of transition and evolution, delving into profound inquiries about reality and the human experience.

Her sculptures possess distinctive metamorphic shapes, capturing nature’s essence in its vibrant colours, textures, fluidity and movement. Employing fluid mediums like resin alongside materials such as wood, acrylic and plexiglass, seeking to inherent the fluidity of the creative process. To create dynamic juxtapositions within the work, incorporating contrasting light and darkness, transparency and opacity, the weightlessness and delicacy of the sculpture, she used purposeful techniques such as free casting, hot- sculpting, sanding and shaping. The tension developed between elements infused her work with a sense of fluidity and perpetual transformations, evoking the sensation of being caught in the throes of constant flux and evolution.

In life and nature, even the most distorted and wild elements possess unique beauty. We exist within an intricate web of interconnectedness, where patterns in nature like the delicate formations of coral mirror the branching the lines of our palms or the brain’s surface, complexities of our own existence. As Susan Abulhawa expressed in ‘The Blue Between the Sky and Water’, “It wasn’t long after that when I went into the quiet blue, that place without time, where I could soak up all the juices of life and let them run through me like a river”, there exists a realm, devoid of time where she embarks on a profound journey of introspection and self- discovery enveloped by the tranquil blue surroundings embracing the rhythmic currents. Bathed in hues reminiscent of the boundless ocean, she invites you to pause and relish the exquisite moments of life.

Time moulds perceptions of the world and influences our understanding of self and identity, and by crafting spaces that are ephemeral yet profound, bathed in light and etched in the indelible footprints of memories, it unravels the distinctive ways towards a creative chapter inviting viewers to explore the intricate tapestry where the beauty of nature converges and diverges with the complexities and contemplation of human existence.