In Ep. 10 of ‘Why We Create’, Surrealist illustrator, Author, and professional night owl, Rafik El Hariri, sat down with us to discuss the power of tapping into your own creativity.
Based in Tripoli, Lebanon, Rafik has been a professional artist since 2016 when he was gifted his very first Wacom tablet by his sister. In that time, he’s contributed both illustrations and written pieces to, publications like Vice Arabia, Vouge, the National and many more.
His style is a combination of peaceful color pallets mixed with whimsical textures and a dash (or two, or three) of surrealism. Add to that occultist symbolism and you’ve got the perfect recipe for images that allow Rafik to explore topics ranging from mental health and other “taboo” social issues. His illustrations create dreamlike space for viewers to reflect upon and relate to their own personal struggles, successes and all the feelings we experience as humans on this earth.
Since our conversation, Rafik’s latest book, “I Found a Heart” , has been published (currently available in Lebanon), and was interviewed by The National News on August 17th, you can read the article here.
To find out more about Rafik you can follow him on social media:
TWITTER rafikelhariri_
https://rafikillustration.com/
We also had a special guest interlude for this episode featuring Art Therapist, Nicholas Keen.
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