Tayyibah Baz West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

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Tayyibah Baz (b. 2002, Bradford), begins with a question: why create at all. Her answer is theological. She regards her artistic ability as an amanah, an entrusted gift, and treats every composition, talk, and workshop as an act of remembrance, not self-expression. This is drawn directly from the Quran, "They are those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on their sid

I always do thorough research before I plan a piece. Its origin and authenticity. Anything which isn’t strong in its evidence in the Quran or Hadith, I’ll avoid it. Because, my pieces are based on that, the knowledge of Islam and its stories. It has to be something which I’m allowed to create within the boundaries of Islam, otherwise I scrap the idea. I don’t create anything which displeases God, instead it has to be something which makes people reflect on knowledge which is often forgotten or even needs more emphasis. If I feel this is something which people have missed out or not covered, then I jump at the opportunity to learn it properly and its origins. Depending on the context of my painting, which is usually the words of God or His Messenger, then the painting must reflect that wisdom and awe. I take extra time, even weeks to decide on what feels right for the message and feeling. The colours, tones and layout has to be done with ihsan (excellence). This is also why I chose Watercolour to convey my paintings because of its softness and depth. A lot of Muslim Artists focus on darker colours, whereas I prefer to focus on showing the Noor (light) of this knowledge. It takes time and mindfulness.