portfolio
JOANNA A. ARIDAI am a self-taught artist currently based in Amman, Jordan. Parallel to my high school studies, I put long hours into a career as an artist, specializing in pencil drawings and murals. After graduating, I enrolled into architecture at the German Jordanian University, a major that lies at an intersection for my love of both the arts and sciences.
The first form of art that I was interested in was pencil. I then expanded my interests into murals and graffiti. It was a way of adding more color to my hometown; turning it, with my colleagues, into a public art exhbition. I’m inspired by the potential to create new imaginative worlds that people can fall into.
My work tends to falls into different genres, wthere be it galaxies, metallics, or animals. I aim to tell a unique and interesting story with every piece that I create.
I typically use standard sketchbook paper and pencils when working traditionally. When it comes to murals, I use acrylics and spray paints.
.04 Pencil Artwork
.22 Galaxy Inspired Art
.28 Murals
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Kee e
Experimentation is the inspiration for me. I grew up with an intense passion for creativity and have constantly searched for ways to express it. Art is a form of expression which artists seek in order to release their energy through artistic materials and medium. Emotions are captured on a canvas and frozen in time as a reminder, connection, and a voice. Art has de nitely helped me when it came to the world of architecture. Whether be it in the creative thinking process, composition, or design. Both elds, architecture and art, carry a close relationship. The idea of integration between art and architecture dates back to the very origin of the discipline, and I hope that, one day, I can also merge both together.
This collection discusses Honor Killings in Jordan: In 2021, a video of a father murdering his 40-year-old daughter, Ahlam, in Jordan went viral. The video of Ahlam’s cries ignited a furious nationwide debate not only over the myriad ways Jordan’s legal system has failed to protect women, but also over how they’re viewed in the deeply conservative society. Human Rights Watch says Jordan su ers anywhere from 15 to 20 such crimes a year. For the country’s defenders of women’s rights, Ahlam’s death was a breaking point. Jordanian women went out to lead protests, demanding legal protection for women and an end to domestic violence and murder. This collection is in honor of Ahlam’s life.
Paper size 210 x 297 mm
Multimedia: Acrylics and pencil on paper
