Digital Islamic Art: The use of digital technologies in contemporary Islamic art in the UK

In this paper, I provide a brief introduction to my artistic practice combining the use of digital technologies with traditional methods for producing Islamic art. Looking at further examples of Islamic artworks by artists in the UK I describe how in some cases, the artworks are digital in themselves, using digital technologies as a medium and in other cases, the digital plays a part in the creation – used as a tool. Looking at examples where traditional aesthetics characteristic of Islamic art (calligraphy, geometry and arabesque patterns), are combined with digital techniques, the concept of a hybrid art is discussed. I raise the question of adopting the hybridised term ‘digital Islamic art’ to describe these artworks, and also discuss how themes of hybridity, diaspora and the changing nature of the wider community in the UK and beyond are conveyed.