Taking steps back before the vibrant pieces of art, the artist Afzal Shaafiu (Afu)’s track goes back to about 20 years ago working as a stamp designer at the post office. Regarding the almost nonexistent educational welfare for artists at the time in Maldives the chance of working in a creative field was a huge lift for Afu to carry on with his ideas. The scarcity of channels to gain knowledge in art at the time led him into self-learning. Afu highlights that the inspiration he got from local artists like, Maizaan Adam Maniku, Maizaan Hassan Maniku, Mauroof Jameel and Sarudhaaru Dhombe during his early years as something he is grateful for throughout his career.

Despite the long term he’s spent creating art, Afu declares that “not much has changed regarding the way of working on pieces, although the experience over the years has refined the thinking and planning”. To him, the thinking process is one of the most extensive things in order to achieve the goals for a new piece. Specifically starting with writing down the idea, “as a creative person by nature you will randomly get a lot of ideas, the important thing is that you write it down immediately since you won’t realize the worth of an idea if you forget it and never get to use it.” further speaking about this Afu explained how he sometimes sleep with a sketchbook by the bedside just in case that he might see a dream which he could further elaborate and use for a realistic or surrealistic piece of art.

As an initially self-taught artist, and now armed with a Masters in Fine Art, there’s a strong impression Afu believes in, “whether you get taught in a school or teach yourself, the way you use the knowledge is what’s important, and even in case you work with an academic qualification or self-talent the creative drive and knowledge is what will add the depth into your art.”

Although he has now learned and practiced several forms of visual arts, including painting, illustration, sculpture, graphic design and sand-art, Afu prefers the “traditional painting”, involving entrancing color blending and brush techniques. When asked about the duration it takes to finish a painting Afu stated that “it depends, sometimes on the medium or the size, but when it is finished the painting will tell you and you will have to believe.”

Afu’s involvement in art starting as the stamp designer took further steps, leading along the way of public and professional cognizance which led him from locally exhibiting his works to getting the national award in visual arts in 2014. This recognition was later prevailed upon by several noteworthy international displays of his work, specifically to mention the exhibition in China, which later gave him the privilege of getting the chance to frame-up his work on a Chinese stamp set. Despite the mentioned thriving achievements, to Afu it is the love and respect he gained through his work that counts the most.

The ocean junk series is a fierce, elaborated array of paintings illustrating “reef fishes if they were to be made of rubbish or junk that we throw into the sea”. The dilemma of waste and plastic is one of the most gigantic hitches to the environment in the modern world, especially for island nations like the Maldives where the surrounding waters and the life it hosts are being threatened.

“Rubbish is an enormous problem to the environment, things get wasted faster these days hence more and more junk, even in Maldives where ever you go the sight of these plastic bottles, wraps, clothes and other household debris follows.” Afu stated that one of the main motives of the series was to show just how much we are wasting. “Even with the constant talks about the problem, there is so much more to do than just talk, we need to act on it, mostly because we are the people who will have to face the consequences first.”

The paintings portray vivid chromatic images of different forms of reef fishes in front of plain white back grounds. “Reef fishes are bright and colorful creatures and the idea was to imagine them being replaced with the junk, and present them in a style close to scientific illustrations.”

Throughout his art career Afu has displayed pieces raising awareness on different environmental problems, one such is his recent work the “Water Hole” sculpture. According to Afu this was to show the effects of different extremes of climate change, especially draught and the impact it has on farming, economy and general human life.

Waterhole

Waterhole

The way forward

He extends his thoughts to various other contemporary issues. The sculpture titled as the ‘Way Forward’ is inspired by the recent events related to racial injustices. He turned to look in to it through a lens of positivity, where he celebrates the racial diversity. Afu says “we often talk about it as an issue with no end, I agree that there’s a lot more to do, but I think we should also acknowledge that we have achieved so much more in terms of co-existing in harmony, it’s beautiful.”

The way forward

Taking advantage of the recent lockdown as a time for self-reflection, self-assessment and healing, his recent paintings are an investigation of how time captures experiences as a memory. Replicated with techniques that leave a print on the canvases, they become the ground he builds upon with the choices he makes at present. Although he leaves it open for interpretations from the viewers, every mark is based on a memory from the past.

Being one of the long term members of the Maldivian art society Afu describes today’s artist community as more “vast and active” compared to twenty years ago. “There are more chances and galleries for artists to exhibit their art, and if you are willing you can get more opportunities based on your performance.” Afu stated that one feature that most people who takes up art lack is the seriousness “the mindset of thinking of art as an easy thing to do should be removed, art should be believed as something that would use just as much determination, dedication and time as other professions.”

Something that Afu wants young people who are starting art to know is that they should be willing to invest time and effort and to “focus on the basics first because that would treat them with remarkable changes with their art.” He also added that one of his most desired wish is to see a proper art school in Maldives which will get the best out of art seekers.