Marwa Noelle Ali

Marwa's curiosity and love of conceptual thinking and reasoning has lead her to explore design in a very personal manner. Her mixed heritage has heavily inspired much of the work she has and wishes to continue to produce, the fusion of two cultures has translated into her design work be it consciously or subconsciously by fusing disciplines, topics, colour or materials. Although working predominantly in digital, she finds most joy in producing work that she can hold or exist within, creating a physical piece that one can be in the physical presence of. A piece of design that one can touch and interact with, encouraging both polysensory experience, both physical and visual.

Hurra

Hurra focusses on the disconnect between the perception of Libya by those experiencing it though the media and those experiencing it first hand. Due to my mixed heritage, I have had the privilege of seeing Libya from a dual perspective and this is something I wished to draw on. Post dictatorship, the people of Libya experienced a shift in independence and this in many ways can leave a nation looking for who or what to follow. Through this project I want to reach out to Libya as a form of encouragement, reminding the country of its rich culture, history and strength in this stage of rebirth as an independent nation.
The posters are an imitation of the once common Gaddafi propaganda posters that overlooked Libya’s cities everywhere you turned. I have produced two billboards that will be brought down to ground level and so the people of Libya can see eye to eye with them.

The animations are digital ways of rolling out these graphics in order to restore a sense of hope, where necessary, within the Libyan community. These visual act as a reminder of the strength of Libyan people, and the continuous success of the rebuilding of the nation after its fall.

The video is a reflective piece, drawing on the juxtaposition between my perception and the portrayal of Libya in by the media. The heavy emphasis on conflict and dictatorship is so far from the Libya that I know. The conflict is ongoing but it has much more to offer than just that. The layering of the videos of conflict contrast the initial, structured layout of home videos shot in my grandmother’s house in Tripoli, Libya. This illuminates the clouding of Libyan culture, music, food and celebration by the negative perception in the media.