THE INDIVIDUAL BECOMES UNIVERSAL —-*in conversation with Samira Abbassy Nina Mdivani: Figures you depict are usually situated in open spaces, not enclosed in any type of constructed environments. Where are they and what brought them here? Samira Abbassy: The ambiguous space is a psychic place. It places these figures in the realm other than our physical reality. The figure carries the narrative rather than the situational place. The non-specific place is like that in a myth; it is not a place but a state of mind. Women with long black hair are the dominant protagonists of your art. They have slightly stylised, mask-like faces. Do you assign any individual features to them, or do they only represent a Woman, a Human Being as a universal form? They are ambiguous archetypes based on myself or imagined ancestors which carry the psychological properties. They are the vehicles of the narrative. They could also be said to represent the divine feminine aspect, or even more esoterically, they are souls in the physical realm. —- Log in or subscribe to read @ninamdivani’s full essay on the thought-provoking works of @samiraabbassy