SELFSCAPE | 2024

Nivin Al Kuzbari 

Ink on Paper, 65x45cm

​

"Selfscape" is a visual and poetic exploration of a journey of the 13 years I spent navigating life in France. Mappa mundi of emotions, elevations and depressions of the heart and soul. The altitude lines etched across the canvas symbolize the peaks and valleys of existence, the soaring moments of joy and the plunging depths of grief.

​

In the center lies a form inspired by the shape of a tear under the microscope. Symbol of grief, but also a testament to the cleansing power of sorrow, the kind that washes over the soul and paves the way for new beginnings. Each line, each curve of this microscopic tear, tells a story of pain confronted and embraced, an echo of the moments when words fail. Only silent tears can speak.

​

The dominant white space represents the untold stories. It is the space for healing, for growth, for new memories to be written. Not emptiness, but rather the fertile ground of possibility, hope and renewal.

​

The lines stretching beyond the canvas, hinEng at the infinite horizons of personal growth. The tear, born from pain, has become a crystal—a testament to resilience. It is a story of not just surviving the storms, but learning to navigate them, to find the calm in their midst.

This piece stands as a celebration of the human capacity to heal, to turn scars into maps that guide us toward a more profound understanding of ourselves. An ode to the strength of vulnerability. In the end, "Selfscape" is a call to keep exploring and find within us the seeds of hope that lie dormant, waiting to bloom.

​

Scattered across this landscape are the words I penned in minuscule letters:
"Who are we to question love and pain, | Guardians of sorrow’s endless reign? | The body’s memory, filled with strife, | Carving love and loss throughout our life.

Like a flower blooms in time’s embrace | Dust turns to stone, no hiding place. | Can we be free from wounds that bind, | Or trapped by masks and pain confined?

The notes of life, a dance in space, | The universe floats, slowing the race. | Should we be shocked by autumn’s tune, | That echoes deep within too soon?

What you’ve endured, you cannot flee, | We’re but a fruit on a doomed tree. | Bound to unravel, break apart, | And self-destruct, right from the start.”

​

​

NIVIN AL KUZBARI

​

With a background of Graphic design and visual art from college, Nivin brings a unique blend of creativity and strategic thinking to her role as a design leader. As the Senior Product Design Manager at talabat, she crafts engaging user experiences, transforming complex ideas into intuitive designs. With a background that spans Bedrock Streaming and Société Générale, Nivin has a knack for building design teams that innovate and inspire.

Her work is driven by a passion for storytelling through design, using every project as a canvas to explore new ideas.