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RIYADH: Pakistani artist Zainab Anwar's compelling work features vibrant colors and surreal depictions of South Asian and Arab cultures with a focus on addressing the 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 where she attended Manarat Riyadh International School. She left the kingdom at 18 for university in Canada and has since returned.

“I grew up here with people from different cultures. However, I didn't often see families from different cultures interacting with each other. At school, South Asians and Arabs interacted, but I didn't see any media coverage of it.

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

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

“Later I 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 because of such standards of beauty, Arab girls and South Asian girls.”

Art was an outlet for her when she was dealing with mental health issues.

“I later started using surrealist art to depict the difficult feelings and experiences I had with depression and anxiety. I grew up with the stigma of mental health and it took me many years to understand these emotions. And making art on it helped me deal with those feelings.”

She added: “I believe that art can help bring light to difficult matters and also bring a sense of peace to people who suffer from such social problems and mental illnesses.

“I found that society is struggling to deal 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 the paintings is Pakistani culture,” she said.

“The art form 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've been drawn to these trucks since I was young and I believe that's what led me to use bright colors in my work.”

Anwar's portfolio showcases the experimental use of various media including ink, pencil, photography and traditional art forms such as embroidery. Her current advantage is the use of acrylic paints for her creations.

Although she depicts aspects of South Asian and Arab culture, Anwar says women tend to relate to her art no matter where they are from. “They can understand many of the universal experiences of being a woman that I portray in my work. People also value cross-cultural work and see it as a reflection of the society we live in.”

Anwar says that in his work he attempts to capture the full range of human experience, including joy and sorrow, which are “important to society, both for the artist and the viewer”.