Year of birth: 1996
Where do you live: Laval
Your education: I graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts degree where I specialized in Culture and Society
Describe your art in three words: authentic, natural, and colorful
Your discipline: My current discipline is photography and I am looking forward to developing my skills in painting, creative writing, and digital media
Your series, “Agony in the Garden,” draws inspiration from the biblical story of Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane. How did you approach translating this profound spiritual experience into visual art?
I approached translating Jesus’ profound spiritual experience in the Garden of Gethsemane into visual art by using photography as a means of capturing real emotions, thoughts, characters, and stories revealed through nature and color.
In a space of solitude and silence, biblical themes and a reality of war permeated the atmosphere. Regarding my personal and spiritual life, I established connections, conjunctions, and parallels with the dichotomies of life. Colors or moods conveyed in a natural habitat include relationships with enemies and friends, confusion and clarity, chaos and peace, fear and love, insecurity and faith, betrayal and trust, and drought and abundance.
Through deep contemplation, images in art connect human experiences to the spiritual world, the visible to the invisible, and the natural world to the supernatural. The images acknowledge their interdependence and expose the danger of their separation, which could imply a lack of meaning in life.
Patiently enduring many troubles and considering it a joy to face trials of all kinds in the garden located in my hometown, this series should be interpreted as a transplantation of God’s purpose and good plans through suffering on Earth.
The colors you use in your work, such as pink, seem to carry deep meaning in your series. Could you elaborate on the symbolism behind the colors in your photographs?
Colors remind us of the beauty of life and the value of the creative process in the artistic fields of photography, painting, music, and books. In a society that often represses feelings, colors are a unique way to express my true personality, emotions, and state of mind.
I believe that colors also glorify God’s creation and the gift of life, by highlighting the distinctive features of human nature. In my eyes, colors also bring life out of dead situations, as nature demonstrates through flowers that bloom after a dark and snowy winter.
In my series, the five colors I chose for my photographs have deep meaning. First, I associate the color orange with the power of authenticity. Orange is a fruit of exceptional quality in Morocco and reveals my true roots. It also characterizes the fruit of the Spirit, signifying love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Purple represents spirituality or higher spiritual growth. This color illustrates the importance of understanding the deep things of God. Green was chosen to emphasize Psalm 23 or God’s promises of peace, providence, security, and spiritual refreshment by lying down in pastures and basking in nature by calm waters. White represents purity, a new heart, and the washing away of sins. Finally, pink honors femininity and love. Although the seasons change, God’s love for human beings remains the same. This truth is reflected in the choice to include this color in each image. Soft pink is also found in peonies, which are my favorite flowers, and alludes to my heart’s desires.
Having the ability to transcend time and space, colors serve to honor people and places of the past. In this series, the four colors mentioned in each title reminded me of Claude Monet’s garden in France and inspired me to reproduce the substance of this French garden in Canada by bringing it back to life through an artistic work and my photographic memory.
Salma Elabdouni | Green | 2023
How do you find a balance between capturing the natural world and evoking spiritual or metaphysical themes in your photography?
By prioritizing the Lord in my life, I always find a balance between capturing the natural world and evoking spiritual or metaphysical themes in photography.
Paying attention to dreams, night terrors, and visions opens my mind to the best choice of a focal point that revolves around a delusional fantasy, a true story, or a futuristic vision based on my faith and heart’s desires to reach heaven. Spending time nourishing myself with every word that comes from the mouth of God through diligent study of the Holy Scriptures also fuels exceptional creative ideas. In my humble opinion, eating and sleeping are essential habits that give me an edge over others in the artistic field.
In my creative process, I also like to take photographs without thinking too much about their meaning in the present moment. Through a lens of light, my eyes see and capture the beauty of life. Then, in solitude and communion with God, I reflect on my thoughts, emotions, and intentions regarding actions taken and filter them through a biblical lens. Emotions are not always right and I always make sure I can discern the truth from the lies. Spending time in nature allows me to make deeper spiritual connections with this world.
Just as God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh, I value my time to relax. Most good works directed by God were not created overnight. Patience is necessary to produce good fruit. Rest is just as important as intellectual work to be productive, to spark creativity, and to accurately evoke the natural and metaphysical worlds.
In your artist statement, you mention the idea of a “gentle spirit” and the fear of the Lord in the context of Proverbs 31:29-31. How does this verse influence the way you approach your art and your life?
Society often confuses gentleness with wanting to please others, but this idea is not biblical. Indeed, gentleness involves speaking the truth in love, as well as having boundaries, standards, morals, and values.
In life, this verse influences my behavior towards others and towards myself. It teaches me about the importance of learning to watch my tongue and control my emotional reactions by capturing my thoughts and making them obedient to Christ.
Attitude is also important in art, because words, colors, and images have creative power that can be used for good or evil. Some artists (or “some”) spread hate instead of love. Artwork affects people’s thoughts and emotions. In these areas, my goal is to influence, change, and correct an individual for the betterment of humanity and society as a whole.
In the context of Proverbs 31:29-31, the fear of the Lord illuminates the importance of understanding that words can have a negative impact on human beings and remain as a curse forever engraved in the mind of God. By recognizing this painful truth, works should not only have a temporal impact in this world, but an eternal impact that will be rewarded in heaven.
This series delves into the deeper meaning of a gentle spirit and strips away cultural factors that may influence how these terms are perceived or defined by others, in order to focus on the natural and spiritual aspects of life.
Salma Elabdouni | Orange | 2023
You often emphasize the need for solitude and deep connection with God in your work. Do you find that this solitude in nature is essential for your creative process?
Solitude in nature is absolutely essential for my soul to reflect on my individual role as a vessel of the Lord in this world and to say yes to the Spirit of God, as Marcus Rogers expresses in one of his songs featuring Noah Surratt. Away from the distractions of culture and society, meditating on the Bible in a garden can be seen as a form of worship to a God with a jealous nature who deserves my time, energy, and attention.
Nature is an ideal environment to praise God and wait for Him in silence. By listening to the voice of the Lord and eliminating the wicked voices of other spirits in this world, the garden photographed in my hometown transports human beings back to the beginning. Through my eyes, this garden also offers a glimpse of the paradise of the Garden of Eden and a moment to reflect on sin and its consequences.
For these reasons, this particular context allows me to grow spiritually, to get closer to God, to develop independence, to gain clarity of thought, and to establish a deeper connection between my experiences and biblical concepts. The changes of colors and seasons also reveal key aspects related to human and spiritual life.
While solitude is important, relationships with others are also valuable. In fact, the Bible mentions that it is not good for a man to be alone. Inspired by people from different cultures, I learn a lot about the meaning and perceptions of life through traveling, exploring parks, and helping communities thrive.
Salma Elabdouni | Purple | 2023
What role does prayer play in your art-making, and how do you see it influencing the final outcome of your works?
Prayer plays a crucial role in my art creation. By honoring God above my own selfish desires and allowing Him to increase in power and become greater as I diminish and become less, prayer allows me to crucify my flesh and surrender my opinions to Him.
Through prayer, I become God’s work and allow the divine hand to take control of the creation of the good works that He has already prepared for me in advance. In art, I do not rely on my own understanding. Putting my own thoughts aside frees my soul and gives space for love to be at the center of creation. I also do not rely on my own strength or power, but on His Spirit, to guide and direct me in the pursuit of my artistic goals.
Prayer is a blessing to see life from a spiritual perspective and adjust the type of lens I use in photography. I see it influence the final outcome of my works in a way that leads to the creation of works of excellence for the glory of God and offers results as close to perfection as possible. With the right intentions in the heart to bring peace and healing to this world, the prayer of a righteous person is effective and powerful because God hears and acts, as mentioned in James 5:13-18.
In my artistic endeavors, even if my pictures are not always appreciated or recognized in the upper echelons of society, prayer leads to success in the eyes of God. In my projects, especially in photography, prayer encourages me to see failure, criticism, and rejection as opportunities for learning and spiritual growth.
What message do you hope viewers take away from your work, particularly when they engage with the visual metaphors of nature and spirituality?
By looking at my work, I hope viewers can take away a message of beauty in imperfection, embracing mistakes, enjoying a colorful journey of natural and spiritual growth, and learning to follow the right path in life.
Through visual metaphors of nature and spirituality in this context, my images and texts explain the meaning of suffering as a human being in relation to a perfect, sinless, and unblemished Savior. My works show that they are not separate, but rather interconnected. The images of trees and flowers also reveal an abundant message, both complex and simple to grasp, demonstrating the need to delve deeper into life and to be patient.
Ultimately, by viewing my photographic works through the prism of light, my luminous images of flowers in a garden aim to lead people to an understanding of a religious belief or a change in mindset or perspective when faced with the trials and tribulations.
The moral of my story is that we all sin and we all face difficulties in life. No one is above God except me. That is proof of my fallen human nature and it elevates the call to the royal priesthood through the divine power of the light of the world.
Salma Elabdouni | White | 2023
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