November 14, 2023
Samy Snoussi x Revival: An Interview with Samy
The first time Samy Snoussi sat down to illustrate this collection was on a napkin in Paris while on a call with Revival’s Design Director. The French-Moroccan artist wasted no time: on a sun-drenched terrace, he let his hand do the busy work, and by the time the ink on the napkin was dry, he was ready to share without much of a moment to stop and overthink.
Samy has convinced us to be more carefree and explore creativity without setting rigid boundaries. Seemingly always working on something new; his artistry is synonymous with infinite mediums which act as never-ending outlets for his imagination. Acrylic, charcoal, pastel, resin, plaster large-scale murals, jewelry, and now rugs are on the list. No matter what the medium, you know it’s his work when you see it. His style, a clear, visual language rooted in bold lines looks as good on a canvas as on a rug. Samy sat down with us to chat about his artistry, our collaborative collection and what he lives by.
R: What influenced your well-honed style?
S: I always drew doodles in the form of little lines on my booklets when I was a kid. In the last few years, I realized I’ve always drawn this way for reasons rooted in my dyslexia– it's a way for me to communicate and express myself. My hand just wants to spontaneously doodle in this universal language. When people ask me about my art, I'm like, you shouldn’t ask me. You should ask my hand, because I actually have no idea how it does it!
R: Can you tell me more about the message in your linework, like in the rugs you designed for us, Trance and Grasp?
S: In this collection and all of my practice, everything begins with the line which symbolizes movement and flow. When I see it I think, is it writing, is it a labyrinth? I just want people’s eyes to wander the lines, and try to decode or make sense of it in their own lives.
R: What was it about the tradition of rugs in Morocco that made you excited to do this collaboration?
S: In every Moroccan house, you have like four or five living rooms in each house. And then in each of those rooms you have the rug! The tradition of rugs is deeply ingrained in my Arab culture, this felt like a natural progression.
R: Has a rug collection been a goal of yours?
S: Yes. Rugs are like timeless pictures for your floor, so creating something timeless for the home was inspiring to me. I tried my hand at designing a line of rugs once here in a village near me in Morocco, but because my illustrations are very round, not straight, it was really complicated for them to do. I was told only machines could print my artwork on rugs. I was so excited when Revival’s skilled weavers were able to interpret my designs, and allow me to explore this. The handmade quality really lends itself well to the movement of the designs, and the results of the weavers were incredible.
R: To return to the beginning as we end, you first sketched the collection impromptu on a napkin. We want it as a memento! What advice would you give about avoiding perfectionism?
S: Nothing is perfect. You’re at odds with yourself if you’re overthinking. I'm not someone who's going to ruminate because there's so many things to be created. I think it's really like: the first gut feeling that comes into place, grab it. Even with these illustrations, I could have worked on them for two years before finding something I wanted to change–you’ll always have something to say about it. So, that’s something that I like in my work. I'd just give the advice to relieve yourself of these pressures so you can leave space for spontaneity.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. This collection launches December 2023.
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