Artist Interview: Islam Allam

Islam Allam is a self-taught digital artist from Cairo, Egypt. To create his digital portraits, he selects a piece of music and listens intently to the beat, rhythm, and structure — and improvises the sound into a character.

We asked Islam about his art, creative process, and inspirations.

untit,UnNkKknowWWnnn3-eld by Islam Allam

“This portrait improvised while listening to “Ulises Conti – 130,6””

Tell us about yourself and your background

I'm a self-taught Egyptian digital artist born in 1992. I was fascinated by graphic design at an early age and used graphic software to experiment and explore the design world. I used my graphic design background to create contemporary digital portraits based on a visual framework generated from knowledge, research, and examination of traditional and contemporary art movements.

What inspires your art?

Often, the composition of some of the elements in my work are inspired by the form and function of the objects around me. At first glance, these objects may not seem like they could be the source of a solution, but when I look more closely, I often find the answer I need. For example, a broken cup handle, a broom, or a doorknob can all provide inspiration for a new composition.

Music is also an important source of inspiration for me. It guides me as I create a portrait, like dancing to music. I feel like the music's rhythms harmonize with my hands and mind, seemingly whispering in my ear what the next mouse/stylus pen move should be.

untit,MoOoNnNa-eld by Islam Allam

“This portrait improvised while listening to “Alva Noto – HYbr:ID oval p-dance”"

What does your creative process look like?

My creative process is always changing and evolving. Not long ago, my work was often motivated by strong, momentary emotions. For example, I would see a photo of a friend on Instagram, catch a glimpse of a secondary character in a movie, or walk past an unknown person, and I would be struck by their features. In that moment, I would feel inspired to create a portrait based on their features, and the process of improvising portrait creation would then begin. This period was related to the stage of forming my style, developing it, and experimenting with it more intensively.

Currently, I'm more interested in the concepts that I'm putting into action. I'm more inclined to creating works that represent what I think about in the moment with ideas and topics, but with the same process of creation, which is improvisation while listening to music.

What is a profound childhood memory?

I vividly remember the first time I used Adobe Photoshop (version 6.0) in 2004 or 2005. My brother had it installed on our computer and told me it was for image editing. I was amazed by the possibilities. I could put my head on a lion's body, or place an island in the middle of the ocean with a penguin sitting on it smoking a cigar. I quickly became obsessed with Photoshop and would spend hours playing with it just like you would play Need for Speed or FIFA, even before I knew what this software was used for specifically, or what graphic design was.

Adobe Photoshop (V6.0) splash screen hung on the artist’s studio wall, photo by Islam Allam

“If I wasn’t making art, I’d be working in carpentry. I enjoy the challenge of taking raw materials and changing them into something beautiful and functional.”

— Islam Allam

How do you think technology is impacting creativity?

I’ll begin with an expected response. I believe that technology has both positive and negative affects on creativity. Let’s take AI as an example, since it is a trend at the moment. There are various points of views about this technology, favoring or opposing it. When I tested it, I saw that it can be a good tool from a practical standpoint — as a tool to save time. A task while creating visual content would ordinarily take 30 minutes to complete, but it was done in less than 5 minutes thanks to this technology. I am here speaking from a practical perspective as a graphic designer.

In terms of my work as a digital artist, I have done some experimentation and testing with the AI technology. When I was working on one of the Fael album covers, I wanted to use an AI-generated image as a reference for the artwork, and the experience was enjoyable and stimulating. And as with anything new, it was followed by some questions, reflections, and doubts. What about artists' intellectual property rights? What does it mean for someone to generate an image that bears your visual style, which you built and worked hard on over the course of your professional years, and which you distinguished among the artistic community, so that someone copies it in some way and attributes it to itself by adding (visual style + your name) in prompt?

Here’s a deep-dive on the subject

“The making of Rawah Fawaz artwork”

Any advice for emerging digital artists?

It is relatively practical advice, so if you, like me, sit for hours in front of a computer, please take good care of your back and don't forget the stretching exercises.

untit,YousAaamEff_eld or [Avoid the mirror of the past] by Islam Allam

“This portrait improvised while listening to "Samuel Organ-Guidance"“

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