Art Matters

What's On Your Wall with Hafsa Mekki

As part of our new series of blog posts, we will be sitting down with members of local communities to ask that all important question: What's on your wall?

In the first of this series, we had a virtual conversation with Hafsa Mekki. Having lived in many different cities and countries across the world, Hafsa and her family are now settled in Manchester UK. Alongside her day job and being a mother, she is also a parkrun Ambassador, trustee of a local charity, Heart and Parcel and last year she founded the 'Moss Side Eco Squad', a grassroots, community-based eco project that gained momentum in 2020 and that has bigger plans for 2021.

Whats on your walls Hafsa Mekki Islamic Art Prints

Hafsa, tell us a bit about the art in your home...

We have a real mixture of art in our house! We love to travel and have bought a piece every time we have visited a new city or country (the UK included) so we haven't necessarily stuck to a certain theme as we wanted each piece to reflect the place we were visiting.

Some are bright and colourful, some have more neutral tones, some very traditional and some a lot more modern. It's a mixture of original paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures. As random as it sounds, when pooled together, it works - or we have found some of the pictures really complement each other. There are some older pictures that we had chosen years ago which actually feel a bit tacky now and not suited to our style, but we still love and keep them as they're connected to memories.

Alongside the ones we've bought on holiday are ones we have just seen and absolutely loved. The artworks here by Siddiqa Juma, Samir Malik and Lord Richard Macleod are very special to us. We love the colours and feel very privileged to have met each of them so having some of their beautiful work in our home makes these pieces even more special.

There's something so lovely about having your walls decorated with things that bring you joy so if I see art I like, I'm very spontaneous in buying it and figuring out where it'll go afterwards!

Do you have a favourite type of art?

I'm not someone who has a preference for a particular genre of art. Whilst I've discovered I really have a fondness for art containing trees or the sea (anything nature really), there isn't a specific style I go for.

I tend to like looking through all genres and seeing whatever takes my fancy. A lot of people map out the space for their artwork and see what would fit in that space, match the colours of the room etc. I often work the other way round, I choose the art I like and rearrange the furniture around it!

Who are some of your favourite artists on IslamicArtPrints.com?

Oooh that's a hard one! As I mentioned before, my taste is extremely varied. I'm a big fan of Rooful Ali's photography and his ability to capture shots with breath-taking detail. There is something about his work that bring me so much happiness and peace! The colours are so striking and the angles are magnificent.

Whats on your walls Hafsa Mekki Rooful Ali Islamic Art Prints

I also adore geometric patterns so Samira Mian, Reinout Engel, Marido Coulon and Margi Lake also really stand out to me. Something so satisfying about seeing shapes fit together so beautifully and in perfect harmony!