After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Western Ontario and completing residency programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Laila became a citizen of the world, allowing the expansion of her geographical boundaries to spill over into her artistic expression.

She wasn’t always an abstract artist. Her artistic journey began with the use of art as a form of social commentary. Her earliest work addressed issues involving identity politics and the representation of the feminine in mass media. During these formative years, she gained significant acclaim from producing work that challenged stereotypical norms and drew from her experience with Middle Eastern culture.

Today, she is an established artist and has exhibited her work in locations such as New York, London, France, Canada, Jordan and the UAE. If you look at some of her most recent designs, what may become apparent is that she has ‘let go’ – surrendered to the creative process, producing art that is multi-coloured, multi-layered and everything but minimal.

Expanding on this step in her evolution, she describes her personal art style as a “circuitry of shape and form, whether those shapes and forms come in Bauhaus-inspired puzzle pieces or marks made in palette knife strokes to form undefined composition.” And although you may be hard pressed to tie her style down to a single concept, she describes it most accurately as being “abstract figuration.”

Most recently, she led a team of students and staff from the Dubai International Academy, in creating an art piece that celebrates the UAE’s 51st National Day. The piece tells the story of the UAE and is a thought-provoking tribute to the power of diversity and inclusion.