My name is Aatif, I’m an artist based in Canada. At 21 years old, I’ve absorbed a lot of inspiration being born with the internet and the spread of ideas and culture. I’ve loved creating art my whole life, and recently dropped out of studying engineering in university a year ago to pursue art as a full-time career. I use a distinctive style of calligraphy and abstraction to spread messages of peace & to express the oneness of man and nature. The artwork is aimed towards unifying communities and bringing our roots to surface.
The Tree of Prophets is my biggest project to date - with 120+ hours of work including the 4×5’ original painting, the digital animation and producing the soundscape, as well as the AR filter. The vibe of the piece is ancient, yet timeless. It’s focused on bringing out roots and history to surface - from the beginning of time till now. The piece has received recognition through popular Instagram pages and the Twitter community. Personally this is the most special piece I’ve made. I’ve done one NFT collaboration with MetaFactory for the VacationStation - sold on NiftyGateway for $20K USD however this would be my personal Genesis NFT.
Alhamdulilah, here’s the Tree of Prophets painting I made for my momma! pic.twitter.com/hqP96brC0a
— AATIF (@aatifstudios) February 12, 2021
With the NFT space emerging now in the present, we are seeing things become possible that were once impossible. The Red Sea parts, to allow growth and make space for this tree, to open a path of miracles that was given to humankind. The potential of us as human beings is limitless. The world is our oyster and we have no enemies in nature.
On the flowers 25 names of the greats are mentioned in arabic calligraphy, the prophets and messengers from all Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are also numbered on the smaller blue flowers in genealogical order, from the roots to the top of the tree over 100,000 years of history. We all have a choice to walk a path we choose. When we stand for freedom, for unity, for equality and truth the universe and the Creator aids us in our path.
As far as I know this would be the first ever NFT art piece with arabic calligraphy, and of this style with the abstract/realistic aspects of the piece. Arabic calligraphy is known for its diversity and is used in paintings, architecture and design across the world in the millions. Around the world, the idea of calligraphy or “beautiful writing” is connected to the divine, it displays human intelligence, our ability to name and study things, to read and write. This is one of the distinguishing factors that make us the pinnacle of creation.
Animation for Tree of Prophets is nearly complete 👀 Alhamdulilah pic.twitter.com/in7JgaTOVn
— AATIF (@aatifstudios) March 5, 2021
As we push towards the pinnacle of creative freedom, I believe this piece stands for the values that we all believe in the NFT space. Arabic calligraphy being one of the oldest art forms in history - it is practiced across dozens of countries and millions of people in the east and the west; together with my unique style of painting creates a very diverse piece of artwork.
Time-lapse of 120 hours 👀 TREE OF PROPHETS now up on Foundation Alhamdulilah 🤲🏽 https://t.co/QQhjLfBSbm #nftart pic.twitter.com/iUraFpOdB3
— AATIF (@aatifstudios) April 19, 2021