Rabab Tantawy

BIO

Born in 1971 in Cairo Rabab Tantawy grew up watching her mother draw and create. Although she did not pursue an artistic career from the get-go, Rabab always kept an interest in the arts and taught herself different techniques, ranging from very traditional mediums like oil painting to modern ones like spray-paints. When Tantawy decided to dedicate herself to the arts she got involved in several exhibitions while also actively pursuing street art. Working with a multitude of mediums the artist created a playful approach to the otherwise serious concepts that ground her work. Her biggest focus is on union, community, and heritage. While often we can see artists approach these subjects from a political point of view, Rabab tries to bridge the gap and render these subjects through the lens of universality. Rabab is an intuitive artist. She doesn’t work with preliminary sketches; she uses the canvas as a support for direct download. There’s no expectation for a final product. In a way the product is the process of creation itself. Line and colour are the pillars of Tantawy’s work. Be it abstract or figurative the artist’s work starts from line. The lines function as a skeleton, informing the whole process of the artwork in the making. Be it soft flowing lines or strong angular ones, this step sets the rhythm of the work. While a lot of artists are choosing to work with limited colour palettes, Tantawy switches from classical earthy colours to strong neon colours in the same series with the same ease she switches between mediums.