NOOR HUIGE, ARTIST

Noor Huige is not an artist who takes the easy route. She employs various techniques that engage the senses. Her creations may appear optically deceptive, yet her works continue to intrigue, offering a continuous journey of discovery.

Noor Huige is not the type of artist who chooses the easy way. She uses various techniques that stimulate the senses. Her creations seem optically deceptive, but nothing could be further from the truth; her works continue to intrigue, it is a continuous journey of discovery.Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: Noor Huige

When we're together

Technique: Mixed Media on canvas

“In the 17e century flower painting, paintings of flowers were a reference to the transience of life. The materials that I use in the paintings also refer to this. They are old photos that I find at flea markets, collected cigar bands and read-aloud children's books from the 20s. All these materials have had meaning in someone's life and tell a story. Effort has been made, energy has been put into it, fun has been had. These separate elements now become permanent monuments and memories in a painting. They live on, do not wither and refer to life.

I have developed my technique over the past 20 years. I call it mixed media. It is a kind of collage of diverse, often old materials that I have collected over the years. All parts tell a story. From a distance you recognize a face or flower, but when you get closer you discover new things in the small details again and again. I build the paintings from special paper from all over the world. I also use fabrics, cigar band collections, Japanese screen prints, wallpaper from the 30s, magazines from the 50s, postcards, old photos, 22 carat gold leaf, paint and ink.”

Blue

Technology: Reuse & Mixed Media

“Reuse is a major theme in my work. I look differently at what is already there, try to see the beauty in it and sometimes I add something to it. I like things that are made with attention and craftsmanship. So I started collecting old antique frames and reusing them. I go to Brussels every now and then to buy antique frames.

As an artist you normally look for a suitable frame for your work. I turned that around. I find an antique frame, let myself be inspired by that frame and then I create a suitable work of art to match it. I also use the mixed media technique, so I build the work with many different materials. I make these works on paper with Sennelier ink. This beautiful, highly pigmented ink comes from the Sennelier store in Paris. This shop is more than 100 years old and both Picasso and Gauguin bought their materials here. I also often work with 22 carat gold leaf to create the connection to the gold in the frame. The artwork and the frame are made for each other and reinforce each other.”

The Fountainhead

Technique: limited edition

De Limited Edition Prints is also one of the many techniques I use to create an exciting whole. I like to use multiple working styles. The limited edition are made up of photos and collages and are then scanned and printed on very special paper: paper that has millions of hairs. This gives it a dust-like appearance look. After printing, it is glued onto dibond - which are aluminum plates - acid-free and treated with paint and glitter. The prints are made in small editions of five or 10 and each print is unique, because they are hand-painted by me after printing. By omitting the glass or epoxy, it looks just like a painting. The museum quality of the ink and paper is so high that it has a three-dimensional effect and people want to touch it to understand what it is you are looking at. I am not a photographer, but a painter who makes a print. That is why I am happy with this special result where you no longer know whether you are looking at a print or a painting.