Aicha Lasfar burns through misconceptions with intricate artwork made from fire
The Alberta artist uses pyrography to forge ties between her Muslim, Moroccan and French Canadian identities
Pyrographer Aicha Lasfar lives in the between. With a French Canadian mother and a Moroccan father, both communities have not welcomed her openly. Not quite fitting in anywhere, as a biracial woman of colour, Lasfar has seen the ugly side of othering. She always felt pitted against pieces of herself. Whether it was the tired and racist misconceptions about Muslims and the East that were so casually thrown at her growing up in Quebec, or the lack of acceptance of not feeling fully Moroccan, she was always torn between East and West.
It wasn't until she moved to Alberta in 2015 that something clicked for her. In nature, she found a sense of belonging. The Canadian Rockies didn't judge her. It's vastness welcomed her spirituality; it welcomed her otherness. Nature reflected all sides of her: her Muslim side, her Moroccan side, and her French Canadian side.
A creative at heart, Lasfar needed an outlet to express this merging of identities that she finally felt at peace with. Pyrography became her medium. Burning designs into wood, she would connect her heritage and the land she lives in to show that all sides of her can meld together beautifully and create something awe-inspiring.
"Fatima's Land" is one of those pieces — a beautiful design of Lake Lousie burned into the Hamsa, a cultural design that wards against the evil eye.
What started out as a therapeutic form of art to help Lasfar feel at peace with her identity became so much more, and Mooselim Works was born. She shared her pieces online and found that the connecting of her identities resonated with many others. Soon, "Fatima's Land" became one of her most popular designs, being commissioned by people all over North America of all races, ethnicities, and religions.
Lasfar's work is about connecting moments in your journey and finding a way to see that your differences combined together is what makes you beautiful. She now takes commissions to help others express their own stories of merging identities in beautiful ways.
Find her pieces for purchase or custom order at mooselimworks.ca.
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