Yacoub Youssef

“My work is inspired by the events that are going through in life.”

Yacoub Youssef Ibrahim is a graduate of the College of Basic Education, Department of Art Education, and now working as the head of a department in a school in the Ministry of Education. Yacoub is a very talented and creative artist and has already participated in several exhibitions and won many prestigious awards. Yacoub's artwork graces one of the three covers for this issue of CP magazine. You can know more about this great artist through this exclusive interview.

AWARDS l Sheikha Fattouh Al-Salman Award 2015 and 2018 l His Highness Emir of the Year Award 2017 l Creative Festival Award in 2016 l Mabrah Al-Baghli's Righteous Son Award 2016 l Third place prize for petroleum exhibition 2016 l Plastic Youth Exhibition 2008 l Dr. Souad Al-Sabah Biennial Award 2016 l The Fine Art Exhibition 2009, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019 l Prize in the Arab Forum accompanying exhibition 2015 l Falah Al-Hajraf Competition Award Second Place 2019

Thank you for joining us for this interview. First, I thank you for choosing me from among the Kuwaiti artists to interview me. It is a great honor for me.

Tell us about your education. I am a graduate of the College of Basic Education, Department of Art Education, and I am now working as the head of a department in a school in the Ministry of Education.

What got you interested in arts? In my early years since I was young, I did not have a great interest in art, so it was part of the school subjects in school days from primary to high school, and at this stage I began to be attracted to drawing. The reason is that one of my works took second place in school competitions and began encouraging teachers to me and from here I started the journey and joined the College of Education Elementary Department of Art Education and I learned everything I needed in addition to taking courses that helped me refine my skills at the hands of professors and well-known artists in Kuwait.

Are you a self-taught artist or did you take a formal training? As I said in the past, some simple skill, along with some courses by professors and artists, helped me refine my skill, and after that I began to work myself and do my experiments and refine the rest of my talent until I reached what I am now.

What is your form of art best described as? I am a diverse artist. I do not like working in one style. I am good at working in multiple schools such as realism, surrealism and somewhat abstraction, but my favorite style is surrealism. What are your favourite materials to use? As I explained, I love diversity. I work and draw with more than lead, wood, watercolors, markers, oil colors and acrylic colors, but my favorite is oil.

What is the message that you like to convey through your art? I convey the reality in which we live, whether it is on the local or global level, so art in my view and for everyone's view is a message to the whole world, and I love that my work reaches the whole world.

Where do you take the inspiration for your work? My work is inspired by the events that we are going through in life, whether local or international, and from films and stories.

What is your process of completing a piece from start to finish? There is nothing specific, I just start by putting the ideas and arranging them on the board and how they relate to each other to the final shape.

How has your professional life been affected by the pandemic, the ongoing issues with coronavirus? Frankly, I was affected by some thing, the situation has changed in the world as a whole. We have been confined to the house for 5 months, and there is nothing but the virus. On the professional side of Baffin, I worked to change some ideas into a topic for the virus and its impact on society and the world from confronting and also afflicting it, trying to convey a message of distancing and taking care not to mute Attention and take caution.

What does an average day look like for you under lockdown? No to do something. I just follow the events and developments of this virus through social media and television channels and start to put my thoughts and at the end of the day I draw through ideas and daily news.

How are you dealing with this sudden change in lifestyle? In my normal and practical life, being the head of the Department of Art Education necessitates us to quickly adapt to any events and likewise in art. When I start and start with a board I put all possibilities before starting, I set a schedule for work and set precautions such as delay, for example, the plague has not affected in the artistic field

What are the important lessons you have learned during this time? Commitment, not taking quick decisions, and not being reckless in any work I do

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? What astonished me from some people, but not all, is that they do not adhere to the divergence and do not take the matter seriously As for the issue of divergence, frankly, we are tired because we have become separated from our family and friends

Did you develop any new interest or hobby or learned a new skill during this time? Somewhat cooking

What's your favourite music/songs for the moment? About myself I love music as my love for drawing and maybe a little more. Music is always with me. I love sad Arabic songs, and I also love motivational sufferings as it gives me energy in drawing.

What 3 things could you not live without under lockdown? Everything is important in my life, even the smallest things, but the most important thing in my life is my family and my love, as I cannot live without them What are you missing most about the outside world? The outside world is free to work my colleagues

What are you most looking forward to doing once the lockdown is over? There is nothing specific. You can go out to the sea, participate in art exhibitions, shop, and go out with family and friends

Finally, your message for us at CP magazine. Finally, I thank you for this meeting and I hope that I have answered all the questions well and in the end I wish you always success and permanent development and thank you.