Saabira Razac, the human

To put it simply, I was born in the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago. My family comprised of my father, my mother, my younger sister of 4 years and myself. I have lived in many places over the years. Trinidad, many parts of Canada, Melbourne and presently Geelong, Australia. I am a proud citizen of 3 countries. I received my Honors BFA and BA of Economics from the University of Waterloo. I have been living in Australia for 8 years and I am the Owner, Artist and Art Instructor here at SRA.

saabira razac, the person

When I think of my journey this far, I see my life in 3 parts. I have never been old anywhere. I lived my toddler years in Canada, my childhood in Trinidad, university life back in Canada and my Adult life this far in Australia.

I have fragmented memories of running barefoot and playing on wet sand at the beach, picking mangoes fresh from the trees and swinging in the hammock on our back porch; juxtaposed with fleeting moments of bundling up in my pink snowsuit and falling in the snow, drinking hot chocolate after helping dad shovel the driveway in winter and snuggling on the couch in my onesie pyjamas watching Gilmore Girls with my sister.

My biggest adventure to date would be taking the leap and moving to Australia. In 2012, I moved to Australia to be with my partner. We have been together for 12 years in 2020, with 8 years having made the move. It has been the most challenging but exciting shift in my life this far. I have seen and experienced things I never thought possible.

saabira razac, the artist

I think creativity has always been in my blood. I love to explore with visual elements, creating story entangled with my experiences and the brush. My memories and experiences are so engrained in the Art I make. I strive to reflect the varying facets of my experience with the bodies I draw.

I love the human form as a subject. There is something so expressive, yet delicate about it. My figures are never placed in a time or place. They dwell in a world of flat darken colour, creeping forward out of the flat plane. To me, bodies tell a story. Placed stark against their background, they command you to look and follow their limbs, as they unveil to you, their purpose.

I enjoy the unraveling sensation I feel when I work on figures. I am discovering their story as I begin to design the body for each piece. Sometimes, faces can be distracting. I usually don’t include them on the bodies I draw. I like the hidden appeal this gives. It allows my audience the opportunity to spend time understanding the body rather than fixating on the face.

But then there is the fun and relaxing side to what I love to create. I love line, shape and colour. Abstraction allows me to be playful; yet intentional. I start with a single asymmetrical line and allow the page to tell me where to go. I love stacking shapes and lines together, tinting where needed and letting the page be my only constrain to my travelling line. It’s fun, exciting and completely aimless, I love it!

Sometimes my abstraction takes on a physical form. I love rendering flowers. Like my bodies, I rarely ever use natural tones to colour my drawings. I love the expressive nature of turning natural colour on its head and watching it excite myself and my audience. I am a cool toned Artist. I love to use colours that possess even the slightest blue or green to them. For me, the colours seem more vibrant and rich when displayed. I like the overall stone-like feel it gives everything I do.

looking ahead

I thoroughly enjoyed looking back at my 10 odd years of creating Art. I love the evolution my style has taken and I am excited to see where it goes. I must say, when I first started out, fresh from university, I never thought I would end up here.

The one piece of Artistic advice I can leave you with is that mistakes are not failure and perfection should not be your goal. Let your ideas meander and take joy in the journey, not just the end product.

As always, thank you all for sticking around till the end. If you would like to take a class with me, be informed of any seminars or events that I host, or just want to learn my way of being creative, please join our mailing list today.

Your Instructor,

Saabira Razac