INTERVIEWER: Nada Ashraf Ramzy
EDITOR: Rana Kamaly
“I try to dig deeper through the person I draw, and show the emotions overwhelming his face through the painting, I like to make him feel that the painting shows what his soul speaks and what he feels, not only how he looks”
Mohsen Milan
THE INTERVIEW
In an attempt to get a closer look at the conditions of Arab artists living abroad, HR Magazine talked to Mohsen the Tunisian painter living in Milan, Italy.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: How long have you been living in Milan?
Mohsen: I have been in Milan for twenty five years now.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Why did you decide to move to Milan?
Mohsen: I moved to Milan because I wanted to improve my standard of living.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you find living here better than living in your country?
Mohsen: Living here is definitely good, you see beautiful places, and meet different people every day, living in a European country in general is comfortable and nice, but the worst thing about living here is that it’s really expensive.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Have you been working as a painter since you came to Milan?
Mohsen: No, I shifted between careers a lot, at some point I was a waiter, and now I am finally a painter.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you only draw the facial features, or do you have a special talent of seeing through people’s souls?
Mohsen: I try to dig deeper through the person I draw, and show the emotions overwhelming his face through the painting, I like to make him feel that the painting shows what his soul speaks and what he feels, not only how he looks.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Have you ever seen a face, and thought that it’s too expressive that it must be drawn?
Mohsen: No, I think this mainly happens when I watch a beautiful scene of nature, but rarely with people.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you sometimes feel bored because of doing the same thing every day or you still have the same passion?
Mohsen: I feel tired maybe, but it’s impossible to feel bored, I could never lose my passion towards painting.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: When was your last visit to Tunisia?
Mohsen: I last visited Tunisia three months ago.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Did you study Art in Tunisia?
Mohsen: I studied sculpture, but I never studied drawing or painting, it’s my talent
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What did you do for a living when you were in Tunisia?
Mohsen: I was a sculptor, then I became a painter too.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you miss being in your own country or did you just get used to living abroad?
Mohsen: Definitely I miss my country, this is my origin which I could neither forget nor neglect. Also I feel relieved in my country as people have the same religion and traditions of mine, people here are completely different than who we are as Arabs, and if we forget our identity and how we were raised, we’ll get lost here; but you know how bad the situation is in the Arab countries, we can’t stay attached to our countries no matter what, because money is important too and we also need to live well.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you only draw the facial features, or do you have a special talent of seeing through people’s souls?
Mohsen: I try to dig deeper through the person I draw, and show the emotions overwhelming his face through the painting, I like to make him feel that the painting shows what his soul speaks and what he feels, not only how he looks.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Do you think you could give up painting one day or have another job instead?
Mohsen: Never, I can’t imagine giving up on painting, yet I occasionally make other businesses on the side to earn more money, but painting is my number one, this is what I love and this is who I really am.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Thank you Mohsen for following your passion, and for sharing it with us.
