September 16, 2019

In conversation with the artist duo: Faten and Maggie!

The artist couple and duo Faten + Maggie (or else Faten Suleman and Nazir Hunzai) welcomed me in their studio/home for a tet-a-tet interview which disclosed a lot about their lives, careers and aspirations.

Faten and Maggie's home studio

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Faten grew up in Islamabad, graduated from the National College of Arts with a degree in painting.

Maggie (Nazir Hunzai) is from Hunza. He graduated from National College of Arts in 2013 with a major in sculpture. They have a beautiful home studio that they work out of. Read on as the incredible artist couple talks to us about their commitment to the environment and give a low down on their inspirations, thought processes and the journey.

Faten and Maggie's home studio

How did you decide to be an artist? Faten: I was shy growing up and an only child for many years. I found art, the most creative way of expressing my experiences. School was okay, I had friends but nothing excited me more than the art classes on Fridays. I love the process of taking a blank canvas and painting an image onto it, building it stroke by stroke, that's what helps me keep creating. Maggie: I've always loved to draw and create things with found objects, experimenting with whatever I could get my hands on. This habit became a passion and later on my profession.

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Faten and Maggie's home studio

Where do you see yourself going, as artists? Faten: I took a long and unexpected break but the plan is to make more art now. A solo exhibition is in the works. Apart from that we have our new venture of handmade art jewelry called 'Artlings', operating on Instagram for now. Maggie: My work is usually freelance now days. I have a few projects up my sleeve, experimenting and creating every day, always made my own accessories. My wife and I started a small business called ‘Artlings’. It's all about hand-made jewelry. They are arty and quirky and up on Instagram.

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Maggie recently worked on a project with "cans"- highlighting our use of plastic/alloys that are not biodegradable and that one day humans and products would look the same. Could you tell me more about it? Faten: The plastic issue is of epic proportions. We’ve said no to plastic bags but the problem is disposing the plastic that already exists. It's not impossible to eliminate plastic just needs clever engineering and science. In the Island of Panama, they are incorporating plastic bottles into architecture. A Japanese inventor said the best way to reuse plastic bags was to make them into crude oil. We need such initiatives here too. Nazir: My recent work is about the unmindful production and careless consumption of plastic. It is my belief that everything that grows around us and all we consume becomes a part of us. We are transforming into the very products that we use.

Faten and Maggie's home studio