An Artist in Dialogue: Nujood Alotaibi

“Nature becomes a language for me. It communicates without words and allows me to feel fully present.”

Based in Saudi Arabia, Nujood Alotaibi brings a quiet, highly intuitive lens to contemporary painting. Working primarily with oil and acrylic under her creative handle Njoodless, she creates work shaped by an experience of the world that doesn’t rely on sound. For Nujood, who is hearing-impaired, silence is not an absence, but a space filled with light, texture, and close observation. Her canvases act as a sanctuary, inviting the viewer to slow down and listen with their eyes.

A World Experienced Through Sight

Q: How did you begin your journey into art?

Nujood: My journey with art began as a way to express what I often could not fully communicate through sound. Living with hearing loss has shaped how I experience the world, more visually, more intuitively, and with a deep attention to detail.

Q: Was there a specific moment where you began to see your silence as a creative space rather than a barrier?

Nujood: One moment stayed with me. I was at the beach without my hearing aids. In that silence, I began to notice something unexpected: I felt completely free from obstacles. I could sense my surroundings clearly in a different way. I became hyper-aware of movement, light, and presence rather than sound. That experience shifted something in me. Since then, art has become my way of capturing moments of stillness and connection that go beyond hearing.

Sourcing Inspiration from the Kingdom’s Contrasts

Q: Your paintings carry a strong sense of place. What feeds your concepts?

Nujood: My inspiration comes from how I experience the world as a hearing-impaired person, as well as from everyday moments that others might overlook. I am drawn to silence, movement, light, and visual details that speak without sound.

My memories also play a big role in my work, especially moments where I became more aware of my surroundings in a different way, such as being at the beach and noticing everything through sight and sensation rather than sound.

Q: How does the local environment shape that process?

Nujood: My culture and environment inspire me deeply. Living in Saudi Arabia, I find inspiration in its contrasts, between tradition and modern life, between stillness and movement, and between what is seen and what is felt. All of these elements come together in my ideas and shape the way I create art.

Oil, Acrylic, and the Language of Feeling

Q: What mediums do you usually work with?

Nujood: I work with oil paint and acrylic.

Q: Are there recurring themes or places in your work?

Nujood: Yes, I often use themes related to nature, especially the beach, ocean, sunsets, and mountains. These places represent freedom for me. Since spending time by the sea and experiencing life in natural spaces, I began to feel a strong sense of release and openness. Nature gives me a feeling of calm and freedom that I try to translate into my artwork.

Through my art, I explore the idea of freedom not just as a physical place, but as a feeling, like standing in front of the ocean, watching the sunset, or being surrounded by mountains. These moments remind me of peace, stillness, and connection, and they have become a recurring theme in my work.

Q: Why does this theme matter to you?

Nujood: It represents how I feel inside when I am in nature, especially near the beach, ocean, sunsets, and mountains. These places give me a sense of freedom, peace, and clarity that I don’t always find elsewhere.

As someone who experiences the world differently due to hearing loss, I often connect more through visuals, movement, and atmosphere rather than sound. Nature becomes a language for me. It communicates without words and allows me to feel fully present.

Q: Was there a project that opened a new direction for you artistically?

Nujood: In the summer of 2023, I became the first artist-in-residence for McLaren F1 team’s Driven by Change initiative. It was a major milestone in my career and gave me the opportunity to design the livery for McLaren’s F1 cars.

The design was an abstract composition in shades of orange and blue gradients, with black and white droplets. That experience encouraged me to push the boundaries of my craft and explore new artistic directions, moving from hyperrealism toward abstract art.

Overcoming the Unseen Obstacles

Q: Navigating the art scene comes with its own friction. What challenges have you faced on your path?

Nujood: One of the main challenges was communication and accessibility due to my hearing loss. At times, it was difficult to fully engage in conversations, workshops, or opportunities where spoken communication was important. This sometimes made me feel limited or left out of certain spaces.

Q: How did you push past the self-doubt that often comes with those barriers?

Nujood: I had moments of doubt while trying to find my own artistic voice and building the confidence to share my work. Over time, I learned to adapt by focusing heavily on visual communication, expressing myself through the paint rather than words. I became more confident in embracing my perspective as something unique rather than a limitation. These challenges simply made me a more observant and intentional artist.

Looking Toward Deeper Expression

Q: When an audience stands in front of your work, what do you want them to experience?

Nujood: When people view my art, I hope they feel a sense of calm, freedom, and presence. I want them to slow down and connect with the quiet beauty of nature, the ocean, the sunset, the mountains, and experience it emotionally rather than just visually.

Q: Where is your practice moving next?

Nujood: In the future, I want my art to continue growing in depth, meaning, and expression. I hope to explore my themes of nature, freedom, and silence in more experimental and diverse ways, using different mediums and techniques to better express what I feel.

A Quiet World Made Visible

Nujood Alotaibi’s work is grounded in attention. Through oil, acrylic, memory, and nature, she creates paintings that invite viewers into moments of calm, openness, and presence. The ocean, sunsets, mountains, and shifting light in her work are not only landscapes. They are emotional spaces where freedom becomes visible.

In a Saudi art scene shaped by many voices and ways of seeing, Nujood’s practice offers a gentle and personal perspective. Her paintings remind us to slow down, notice what is around us, and connect with beauty through feeling as much as sight.

Stay close to Nujood Alotaibi’s horizons, textures, and creative journey on Instagram at @Njoodless.

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