empowering women through illustrations, artist perspective by moira zahra
Artist Perspective by Malta-based illustrator Moira Zahra on her reasons and process behind drawing women in her illustrations.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always drawn women. If you ask me to draw something on the spot, I will draw a woman or a girl. I have two young daughters, and they share this same instinct. I’m not entirely sure why this is the case, but it feels natural to me. I suspect it’s a form of self-reflection and that many female illustrators share this impulse. We are women, and each drawing of a woman tells its own story and has its own narrative.
The women I drew as a child were what I considered idyllic representations of women, those that little girls often draw: pretty fairies and princesses. However, even as a child, I knew I could never be the women I was drawing. As a Mediterranean woman, I am fairly olive skinned and have naturally dark hair. My drawings were of blonde princesses with long wavy or straight hair. At the time, these were the majority of the Disney princesses we were exposed to and it really did made me question why I wasn’t born like them.
As a young teen, my drawings moved on from princesses to supermodels and celebrities. My art teacher once questioned why I was only drawing skinny women. Indeed, why? I asked myself the question, but I don’t think I was ready for the answer yet.
In the beginning of my illustration career, my work was still centred on fashionable, beautiful women. I was determined to draw pretty, skinny, tall women in extravagant clothing. I think primarily this stemmed from my newly found love for fashion illustration and it got me my first gigs from clients who were looking for this kind of work. As much as I still love fashion illustration and am still inspired by it, over time I’ve shifted toward themes of strength. That could be silent strength, strength in sports, or women who exude power.
Becoming a mother has definitely sparked a change. I’ve since found myself exploring themes of motherhood, which is inherently tied to strength. Recently I’ve also been researching the topic of domestic violence. Living in Malta, I’m aware of the alarming statistics from a recent EU survey on gender-based violence, which revealed that 26% of partnered women in Malta have experienced some kind of psychological, physical, or sexual violence from an intimate partner. In the past decade, 17 women and girls have been murdered by their partners.
Femicide is a problem in Malta, and it’s a subject I would like to explore in my personal work. However, this comes with its own challenges. How can I portray such a sensitive topic, and can my work honestly contribute to helping women in some way? A project I completed for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre was eye-opening. It showed me that creating art that is related to domestic violence not only helps to highlight women in distress, but it can also be instructional and informative. It can show women how they can get help: who to call, where to get help and how to access legal aid. Illustration in this case can provide hope, a display of strength, as well as information.
As I grow older, although I still love drawing beautiful, fashionable women, I am more inclined to look around me first before I seek inspiration from further afield. I find that having many sources of inspiration can make an illustration more layered and complex, even if the result seems simple. I look forward to exploring the complexities of womanhood further, as well as experimenting with the way I represent them.
If you'd like more info, or work with Moira, please contact [email protected].
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