Syarifah Nadhirah Binti Haji Syed Abdul Rahman

After pursuing Architecture at the base of my practice, I found myself realizing that I have been constantly living surrounded by Selangor’s greenery and observing the patterns of my paintings transformed by the strong physical and emotional connection I feel for the place. Having perpetually lured by the lush green surrounding my neighbourhood, it is not uncommon for me to reflect that in most of my work. But, the need to recount these green forests became more prevalent to me as the ever-changing urban planning takes over vast lands over the years.

My first few painting series came upon with the study of feminine figures as the central theme, often portrayed as calmly drowning in underwater scenes; subtly equating them with the suffocating Mother Nature. Figures then turned into portraiture of the female facial structures, as I studied compositions of emotional expressions constructed by the human mind. Moving from the humanistic forms, I began scrutinizing all sorts of forms of nature, particularly water bodies and the forests, occasionally combining them with human or animalistic elements. Along the years, I found myself slowly documenting local flora and botanicals in my daily watercolor journal as they remind me of how similar they are to us anatomically, deconstructing and dissecting its’ body into their significant characteristics and vibrant hues.