Shaya Latheef, is a Maldivian medical doctor and artist pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor and her passion for art simultaneously while living in Australia.
In a busy hospital in Australia, working on the cardiac team, is a girl whose heart beats to the sound of the ocean waves. Born and raised in the Maldives, Shaya Latheef, a once bright-eyed child who painted a mural on the wall of her house to copy her brother, is now a second-year junior doctor in Australia. Twenty some years and a medical degree later, that little girl still lives on ever green in her heart.
Shaya is the epitome of every Asian household’s dream – a successful doctor. All too often, the world has witnessed big dreams crushed under the heavy expectations of this perception of success. However, medicine for her was never an expectation. It was a choice she made, and one she says she would dive headfirst into all over again if given the chance. But that’s not to say that her choice of career has been an easy one.
“It’s busy sometimes and can be really hectic depending on the rotation I’m on,” she modestly describes her routine day on the job.
What she didn’t include in her answer to my question is that her job sometimes entails getting called in for back-to-back shifts before she even has the chance to change out of her scrubs she wore during the first shift – the reason why our interview for this article got delayed.
Needless to say, her passion for art took a backseat as she dedicated her early 20’s to the noble cause of becoming a doctor and tending to the ill. But the artistic flames in her heart were never fully extinguished, making special appearances every now and then.
We asked Shaya how she initially got into art, and what her artistic journey has been like so far.
“I think art runs in the family, I grew up watching my brother paint, and he was really good at it. I remember copying him when I was a kid. He once painted a mural on one of the walls in the house – it was a large rose. And of course I had to do it as well, so I drew a flower on one of the other walls. From what I remember it was very ugly, but my mum still let me do it,” she chuckled fondly recalling her childhood artistic endeavors.
“I haven’t done any art studies or trainings. Everything I’ve learned is just through the internet and my own experimenting. I haven’t participated in many art competitions either, just the one during medical school in Malaysia – I got first place in that,” she said, adding that she still holds the winning painting close to her heart and never intends to sell it.
“I’ve only ever participated in one art exhibition and that was the Unveiling Visions Art exhibition in 2018. I flew to Maldives from Malaysia for like 2 days just to drop off the painting. It was a pour painting and people seemed to really love it. I got many offers for custom artwork after that but unfortunately, I was in Malaysia and couldn’t really do any of it.”
“Since then, though, I guess I haven’t really submitted my art into any competitions because I have been busy with studies and work. I am hoping to participate in Unveiling Visions this year in Maldives and have also entered one of my paintings into the Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award in Queensland.”
But how does a busy doctor like Shaya find the time to create art?
“It depends on what terms I’m on and how many off days I get. I would say I’m lucky to be working in Australia because I think the work life balance is much better here. We usually work 80 hours in a fortnight excluding overtime, and usually have four off days every two weeks. And if I’m not on a busy term like I am now, I get time after work as well. Some terms I don’t get much time at all and that’s probably why I haven’t done much art for the last couple of years,” she explained her work schedule.
Makes sense, but more importantly, what kind of art would a doctor even create? Surely not just paintings and sculptures of the human anatomy, right?
“My art? I love the ocean. Most of my paintings are based on the ocean – be it pour painting, acrylic or oil painting. I love to photograph the ocean and seascapes, so a lot of my paintings are based on my photography too. I find it hard to do abstract paintings, so even when I do pour paintings, I like to create something related to the ocean.”
Spoken like a true Maldivian.
So, with the ocean as her muse, and newfound slightly lighter schedule, Shaya has now begun delicately placing her brush strokes on canvases to create masterpieces that captivate hearts around Australia. In fact, her talent has made a grand entrance through the doors of a private clinic and secured a permanent place on the walls of her senior colleague’s consultation room.
“I’ve had a doctor that’s been very encouraging of my art, and I think that’s been one of the main reasons why I have started painting more frequently now. He commissioned me for a painting to be displayed in his consulting room.”
“It really helped with my confidence in pursuing my art more seriously.”
But it is not just Australia that is mesmerized by Shaya’s work. Her decision to join Tiktok and share her art with the world quickly reached back home and has now garnered a dedicated follower base who admire her ability to captivate the details of the glistening blue waters of the Maldives.
“So unreal.”
“That would look great on my wall!”
“You’re telling me that’s not a photograph!!!?? Nah this is INSANELY good!”
These are just a handful of the hundreds of comments from Maldivians that flooded some of Shaya’s Tiktok videos showcasing her art – and with good reason. Every piece of art she posts somehow seems better than the last.
So, is there a market for Shaya’s art? What’s her next move?
“Like I mentioned earlier, I’m currently focusing on the Unveiling Visions and the Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award in Queensland. I’ve entered one art piece for the one in Queensland, but I’ve created a special 40 inch by 40 inch for Unveiling Visions which I’m very excited about but can’t reveal to the public yet.”
“I’m [also] trying to put up my art in one of the hospitals I work at. I think I’ll paint a few more before I do that so it’s a proper art exhibit.”
“But I just recently set up an online website shop and another on Etsy where the rest of my work are available for purchase. At the moment I’m not selling much, probably because I’m starting all over again and need to find a customer base. I used to have a lot of customers when my pour paintings got popular. But I’m hoping I can find customers for my current paintings as well,” she laid out her current game plan for us.
Along with her dreams of having a successful career in art, Shaya’s dedication to medicine also remains strong.
“My dream is to specialise in a subspeciality in internal medicine, be a consultant and not work full time. Maybe 75 percent [for medicine] then dedicate the rest of my time to art. I plan to start specialty training in the next couple of years and then it takes more than 6 years from then to become a consultant. So, I’ve got a really long way to go. I’m not in a rush though. I plan to continue doing art while I progress in my career. And hopefully it works out!”
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