Artist Statement
I am a visual artist working with painting, textiles, and mixed media to process complex trauma and emotions that I cannot put into words. My practice emerged as a survival tool – a way to breathe when everything else felt impossible.
I work across multiple mediums including acrylic painting, fabric dyeing and printing, embroidery, and installation. My process is intuitive, layered, and often cathartic. I build up color and texture, allow paint to drip and pool, stab canvas with embroidery thread, and incorporate pattern as a way to contain or release what I’m feeling. Each piece holds rage, grief, joy, and survival.
My methods are deliberately varied – sometimes chaotic and spontaneous, sometimes controlled and meditative. I use whatever technique serves the emotion I’m processing: bold gestural painting, repetitive stitching, carefully drawn patterns, large-scale installation work.
Recent projects include research-based community art mapping (Vibes of Greater Manchester), mixed-media paintings combining abstraction with decorative pattern work, and textile installations exploring the body and identity.
I’m neurodivergent and live with complex PTSD. Art isn’t therapy, but it’s given me a language for what I couldn’t otherwise express. I make work for myself first – but if it resonates with others navigating trauma, that matters too.
Social Media:
Instagram: @Mahdiyyah_ahmed
TikTok: @mahdiyyahart
neoartists.co.uk 