PAINTING
Colour, is my language of love. In our darkest hours, the need for reassurance that humanity will prevail becomes urgent. Colour, in all its nuances, energy, meaning and significance fascinates me and is crucial to my expression. With colour, I tap into a range of sensations, from despondency brought on by conflict and war, to defiance in the face of adversity, to sheer hope, humanity and joy! Colour is the reason I paint, though it is not colour with which I paint, it is with my humanity, my soul! Here’s to changing the world, one colour at a time! In this latest series of paintings titled HOME, I created drawings of my home, made during the pandemic lockdowns; a visual memoir marking a pivotal moment in world history from a personal point of view. The following are selected examples from the most recent and previous.
The White Orchid (Oppenheimer, Barbie & Kawkaba) • Oil pigment on canvas 180x160cm London 2023
The Orange • Oil pigment on canvas 140x160cm London 2022
Teatime with Dates and Matisse (HOME16) • 17Feb2022 Oil pigment on canvas 165x145cm
HOME2: 33 • Oil pastels on canvas 41x51cm 9 Feb202 • Presented as part of the solo-exhibition HOME Lockdown 2020-22 (9-22 June 2022) @markhachemgallery Paris
HOME33 • Acrylic on Paper 25x18.5cm 29 April 2020
The Blue Tulip (HOME55) • 150x130cm Oil on Canvas 30 Sept 2021 Private Collection Houston Texas USA
The Blue Tulip is the second in a series of large ‘oil on canvas’ paintings inspired by and drawn from the HOME series, which I started at the beginning of the pandemic. Prior to this time, my residencies at the Cité des Arts in Paris 2015/17/18 instigated a series of paintings with focus on geometric abstraction as I indulged in the works of Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitzky, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky and important others, all of which were at arm’s length in the vibrant Marais district. It was time at HOME in confinement during lockdowns however, that would inspire a series of small drawings on paper, featuring intimate perspectives of our living space and the objects within. Seldom the main subject, these objects formed part of the larger composition as I continue to explore the impact of colour and composition, re-interpreting these timely drawings on a grander scale! This time round however, it was Henry Matisse and Van Gogh who were my accomplices! It appears that Tulips come in most colours… except blue. 💙
HOME41 • Acrylic on paper 4May2020
HOME SERIES MADE DURING PANDEMIC
Similar to many artists during the pandemic lockdowns, I did not have access to my studio and resorted to making art that is practical within the means available, basically, small works on paper. The ‘Stay Home Save Lives’ message prompted me on a mission to draw the my ‘home’ from every vantage point possible.
This eventually became a visual diary documenting a surreal moment in our collective history history from a personal point of view. In a complete departure from my earlier geometric abstract art, I was re-discovering my drawing skills through direct observation and in the process also reflecting on the notion of ‘home’ and its wider implications. In this I have found immense pleasure, peace and solace. Despite the uncertainty and turmoil of the time, there was an abundance of solidarity, humanity, joy and beauty across the globe, and ‘earth’ was for the first time, in an uncanny way, at peace.
HOME 34 • Acrylic on paper 25x18.5cm 29April2020
‘I feel more connected not only with the present and with what matters most, but also with the past, re-living treasured memories of what was once my home in that golden city in the heart of the cradle of civilisation. I like to think of it all as a positive outcome of these challenging times. There truly is ‘NO PLACE LIKE HOME’ if we are fortunate enough to have a home. I hope and pray for the day that this nightmare is over and life returns to ‘normal’, though I do believe that life will not be the same. Personally, I choose to see Hope and Light at the end of the tunnel and trust that we will learn from the experience and become more compassionate as human beings. I would like to conclude with an extract from a letter from the future about how we handled the cornonavirus pandemic of 2020, from a grandfather to his grandson: ‘After the virus, there was still music, art, love, camaraderie, mountains, oceans, family, laughter, purpose, soul. Life really is beautiful. And we’re here for a good time, not a long time.’ Maysaloun Faraj March 2020
REVOLUTION • Acrylic on mixed media 2019
Bird Symphony • Acrylic on paper/canvas Paris 2015 COLLECTION MANSOURIA FOUNDATION
BIRD SYMPHONY is a collection of drawings made during my first residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2015) in response to the tragic mass migration we are witnessing world-over. In the name of Freedom and Democracy and in the name of Religion, atrocities are committed, the result of which innocent lives find themselves in pursuit of 'safety' outside their homelands, often jeopardizing their very lives in the process. Forced to leave everything behind; their beautiful lands, homes, loved ones, carrying nothing more than their sorrow-filled hearts and memories, not knowing what the future holds; it is a sad mad world. Yet still... in the words of Amos Lee "Nothing is more powerful than beauty in a wicked world."