Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was born in Aden, Yemen. Since early childhood, I've lived in locations as diverse as Havana, my homeland city, London, Jeddah, Rome and recently Milan. I therefore feel as a nomadic traveler sometimes, I feel as a citizen of the world. Ever since I was a child, I've been in love with traditional tales and magical stories. I guess starting Pratic was a way for me to reach out to my unfulfilled childhood fantasies.​

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Tell us a little bit about your interpretation of Paper Passion?

I have to admit that when I read the briefing of Paper Passion I had some difficulty at first, as I found it too open and free of margins, in other words without boundaries. Here lies the problem! That meant I was free to create whatever I wanted without limits, the only rule I had was to use Arctic White paper. 

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I had to think and ask the question - why paper? An ancient medium yet still contemporary; fragile yet can live beyond our own lives; considered a poor material yet can be very luxurious. Every single person has used paper at some point in their life, whether for basic everyday use or for a more sophisticated purpose. We are all united in paper.

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Simple questions are usually the hardest to answer. So, I had to think of something personal to me but collective (universal) at the same time, as my journey is part of a bigger one. We are all here together, whether we like it or not: 'No Man is an Island'.

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Tell us a little about your piece?

When I thought of what I would create for the Arctic brief, I had no idea where to begin, so I thought to start from a place of love. Something that brings harmony, joy and presence to my state of being. Music! In particular, the sound of the violin, played with passion and powerful emotions, elation or desperation. 

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Shortly after I started sketching my violin another topic started worming its way into my mind and therefore into my sketch book as well. Immigration! A generic topic, yet extremely personal to me and many people like me. Contrary to popular opinion it's not a current topic at all, it's as old as the existence of mankind and many other species; the instinct to survive and the need to search for a better destination. 

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In my piece, I do not attempt to talk about immigration in the way we know it as, but rather a simple curious search for sound. I hope to tell the story of a city in search of its melody and harmony, not necessarily by moving into a new space, but rather by looking for it's unique beautiful sound from within.

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What was the most challenging part of the brief?

For me the most challenging part of the brief was the complete freedom in creating whatever I wanted, as the mind kept wondering in different directions I had to force myself to choice one story to tell. Another challenge was to use white paper only to create the piece. I love colours and usually use rich vivid colours in my work. As for colouring the paper wasn't an option for me

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What part of the brief did you enjoy the most?

I really enjoyed putting the pieces together of the two concepts and making it work.

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How did you enjoy working with Munken and Arctic Volume?

I really enjoyed working with Munken and Arctic volume, I found the paper to be very smooth and very easy to cut and shape.