Shuffle Design’s ‘Music is My Drug’ Collection Explores Loss, Grief & Survival

In times of loss, some turn to art for comfort, and others create art to reflect on their grief. For Amal Salah - founder of Cairo-based studio, Shuffle Design - music was what helped her process the loss of her mother after she had fallen ill. That music, and how it helped her find her way through the darkness, fuelled Salah's latest project, 'Music is My Drug'. In creating mosaics that depict inspiring singers and performers, Salah found a new use for the discarded and expired medication that her mother had left behind.

“I didn’t throw away any of her belongings, not even her medication, and music was a great companion through it all,” Salah told CairoScene. Known for experimenting with unconventional materials and mixed media, Salah implemented the same thinking onto this collection, drawing parallels between the medication that had soothed her mother's pain, and the music that soothed her own.

“It took me months to even grasp the idea," Salah said. "I cannot say I am truly over it, but I am trying to cope as much as I can. I am learning."

The collection is currently available for sale at Shuffle Designs, with portraits of celebrities such as Sia, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson, and Radiohead. If you'd like to see more of the ‘Music is My Drug’ collection, you can head to the studio’s Instagram page at @shuffle_designs.