A lot of my old IG captions have some blog-worthy content. I’m planning to re-write/edit ones I stumble upon, just to ensure they make a bit more sense. Here’s one of them.
I’ve added present-day Noor captions in italics, just for some 4th wall breaks :D
Enjoy.
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This is not just a work of art - it is a medal against resistance.
On my trip to Manchester Central Library, I stumble upon this empty hallway decorated with Neo-Classical ceilings and inviting leather sofas. I sit down to sketch, considering this to be a perfect place with its light footfall and low ambient noise, no one to disturb or distract (one of the many things I miss about the UK are free spaces to sit in - Dubai likes to monetise you for breathing air).
As I’m completing the above sketch, I notice, out of the corner of my eye, a pair of boys holding book bags and coats, sitting down at a table a few sofas away from me. Their quiet chatter catches my attention every so often. The older boy, presumably the older brother, is helping the younger one with his maths homework.
I was a jaded final-year Architecture student, desperately burnt out and ready to never enter an educational institute for the rest of my life. To see these two actively and independently working, motivation lighting up their faces was inspiring. Not to mention, their togetherness reminded me of my relative aloneness at that moment.
It got me thinking: despite the support, we get from friends and family, ultimately, we are the only person who will be with us for the entirety of our life.
Because of this, thought we may be our biggest critics, we simultaneously have to be our strongest supporters. We have to be the ones to tell ourselves to grit our teeth and pull through the climax of a workout; the conclusion of an essay, the last leg of a degree, or (more relevantly), the ugliness of a drawing
We have to ensure we are our biggest fans.
So instead of berating myself for drawing something I wasn’t enjoying, I decide that this sketch (like every sketch) is a mental exertion for every stroke on the page. It is a good and bad thought battling with each other as the colour deepens. It is fire and ice. All of our triumphs are a collection of the silent inner struggle. Our achievements are our token of one more battle won against resistance - one more battle in our war of life (why I was so dramatic about my drawings back then, I have no clue).
I cannot claim I love this drawing (2023 Noor definitely does). All I can say is that it is an accumulation of mental grit and of many hurdles.
Somewhere along the way of drawing this, I fell into a frenzied state of work, of enthusiasm, of wanting to work (perhaps thanks to those boys). And just for that, I will appreciate it (I think 2019 Noor should appreciate it otherwise).
Is there a piece of work you’ve made that you thought of as you read through this?