Maryam Hashemi:
I've always worked on canvas and paper. Now it's the first time doing something completely different, new to me and it's very exciting, and I'm going to be working with these… on a van!
I'm tired of working on a 2-D surface, working on canvas and paper. It's just a bit boring. I'm just giving it a quick wipe.
For this van, I decided to use markers compared to paint, and it gives me a lot of freedom and I can create the lines that I want to. Now, there's no going back from this. It's the beginning and it's very scary! Ahhh! Well, it definitely marks(!)
I've got… see the fishes, they just seem to be the most dominant. A lady here who seems like a kind of bride. That's a spaceship clam. All those things that you have to worry about, working outside…
Got a little bit of a problem - I've got to squeeze between these… I'll have to ask him to move it. How long can I work in the cold? How long is it going to take? What if it rains? Cloud is looking a little scary. I might get an hour. I don't think it will rain. Got a little of the rain. Waiting for it to stop.
My first thought was like, I'm just going to finish it, treat it like a canvas, but then I realised if there is a flow, and if there are gaps, it actually would work better. If there's a composition, you can just follow a certain path. I think I'm going to leave that bit, because… I'm very short.
This fear of making mistakes and this fear that, you know, something you do may not be good enough, it's not good because if you have that fear, you're not going to do anything. You're just going to be repeating yourself over and over again.
This is what I did last night. So, yes, I'll be finishing this and, yes, we've got this whole side that needs doing. I'm running out of time. So… Get cracking.
The dust and rain is definitely a problem because you have to constantly wipe it and make sure your surface is dry. This section here is really filthy. It can't be oily, so I sprayed it with window cleaner - bad idea! Bad idea!
I'm just doing some last finishing touches. It's taken me about… probably three weeks to do and it's just so nice to finish this, put in this last patch of red. I'm going to leave it there. I can always add more details with a fine pen here and there but, no, I'm going to leave it. It makes me so happy seeing it finished.
I like to make people smile, I like them to look at it and smile or laugh and say… This is funny. I don't know, I like making people smile.
Video summary
Artist Maryam Hashemi transforms a white van into a piece of art.
It is the first time she has not worked on a two-dimensional surface such as paper, canvas and paint.
She starts by using marker pens, and worries about the weather and the impact of this on her work. She explains how her composition will have to follow the shapes of the van.
Her swirling line drawings cover most of the van and she shares her enthusiasm at her finished work, driving off in the van that has been transformed into art.
From a series of BBC Teach clips exploring the artwork of six UK-based leading artists.
Teacher Notes
Encourage students to take inspiration from Maryam's final piece.
They could paint an object that they’ve found white, then, using a black pen transform it with a composition of ideas flowing into one another.
These clips will be relevant for teaching Art and Design at GCSE/KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4/5 or Higher in Scotland.
The topics discussed will support OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 and Higher in Scotland.
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