FUTURE LAB: An Interview with Mawadda Edbagi

What three vital things should the world know about you or your background?

1.  I'm a multidisciplinary artist, part of this includes my love for making costumes and props 

2. As well as manga, I love collecting old books, some of which are 100 years old. 

3. I have 2 cats.

What made you want to embark on a creative career?

When I was younger, I wanted to write characters I related to because I found peace in that. I was really inspired by the many books I read, as I grew up reading a lot, so I wanted to write something of my own. I also liked creating characters and backstories as it allowed me to be inventive, so I always dreamed of writing my own book. 

More recently, I remember reading something about the fact that many people have similar ideas, but only a few people bother to make these ideas a reality, which is why they're called creators. This really made me hasten to start making my ideas a reality, otherwise someone with a similar idea might make theirs first, and I would have to rethink or not bother anymore as my concept would be too similar (as this has happened with my character designs before). 

I also really took a step towards a creative career because I realised no one lives my life except me, and that includes living with disappointment and regret if I don't follow the career I really desired. My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I knew what I really desired, from a young age, was to be an artist or writer. In Sixth Form I dropped the science subjects I had and took up humanities instead, and though it was hard, from that moment I've felt a big weight lift, as it's always the right decision to follow what you really want. I realised that life can be short, but it's important to make the most of it which includes choosing the right career for yourself. 

This year I had a placement as a Creative Assistant, and that really opened my eyes to a whole world of creative careers I wasn't familiar with, which was amazing- I learned you can work in the creative industries beyond producing your own work.

What is your future career goal?

My future career goal is to make a comic/manga of the story I'm developing, hopefully having experience as a comic assistant before that, and perhaps work in games concept art.

Who is your biggest inspiration in the creative world and why?

Not to be pretentious, but I don't really have one person who inspires me. If I really like the work, then I tend to find the person who's made it inspirational because of their skill. For example, I really admire Isayama's use of imagery and foreshadowing in 'Attack on Titan', and the fact he started the story at a young age. And I find how cinematic and industry-shifting Kojima made Metal Gear Solid to be really inspirational, including how relevant the themes of the second game are with current AI issues, over 20 years on.

Where do you see the future of media heading? 

As much as I dislike AI and find it invasive to the work of creatives, if the use of it continues then I think perhaps it may become intertwined with actual artists' work, if they choose to use aspects of it in projects etc. This aside, I think things like games and movies, perhaps even audiobooks, will become more immersive, being experienced through VR and further developed technologies when they are released.

Are you 18-25 and embarking on a creative career? Learn more HERE!