Creating Beauty with Charcoal: Meet the Libyan Artist Hakim

Art comes in different types and forms. It can be described as the door to imagination and creativity. It does not have a specific definition and it depends wholly on each individual. Whether you are an artist or an observer; you will experience many forms of art differently and separately. I have been observing many artists in Libya, especially, among the youth. I was lucky enough to highlight many talents this year in many categories and in the past few months, I have discovered a different artist. I noticed that he was different from other artists I saw; he only uses charcoal to draw and I could tell that he was special in the portraits and drawings he shared on social media. Thus, I decided to interview him for this article and he gladly said yes to this interview. His name is Hakim. I asked him many questions and his answers were concise and straight to the point.  

I asked him about his beginning in using charcoal and Hakim as he called it ‘his childhood talent’. He used to draw with colors and basically anything and when he was 4 years old, art became an essential part of his life and he began to realize the role of art after experimenting with colors and found out that charcoal represents him the most. And I asked him why charcoal? He said and I quote ‘’It is a little bit complicated and I believe it has a deep meaning. I felt that charcoal is similar to me and can represent me more than any other color. The color of charcoal was one of the reasons that made me love it because when we mix all colors, we end up getting black’’.  

Black can express everything and anything. It can transfer the meaning and depth of any object and with this color, he could bring out many perspectives of many things to draw which is the opposite of using other colors. Charcoal represents death in a way and is considered the end of everything. Rather, he managed to bring out the life of this dead object in different forms and expressions. Charcoal can give a true meaning for objects, in addition, it has a genuine impact and this is the reason why he loves to use charcoal.  

Throughout the interview, we talked about inspiration. He said if we are to eliminate personal experiences and the psychological reactions, we go through which sometimes come out in a piece of art, for him, everything can be inspiring. He finds inspiration in the music, street life, in the faces of strangers, etc. This is what strikes me personally as I produce articles, I get inspired by anything, sometimes an article can be the result of a single word. 

I asked him if there are any inspiring artists and he said there is not a specific artist to choose but he likes the abstract form of art which gives him the space he needs and even as an observer; he can create and reach places that differ from reality and it can give your imagination wings to fly. I finally asked him about the definition of art and he is opposing the idea of giving a definition for art because it differs from one person to another. For Hakim, Art is a necessity in life just like food, water, and air. It is also a necessity for people who observe different forms of it and not only artists. Finally, I would like to thank Hakim for his openness in this interview and I encourage you to follow his work.   

You can follow him and his work on Instagram: hakimaltlis