Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A group of painters and visual artists, deeply connected to the kingdom, are showcasing their work in Germany with the aim of raising awareness about Bahrain as well as spreading hope through art.
Designer Ali Dowlatshahi, multi-disciplinary visual artist Mohamed Alaabar aka Leon D, artist and curator Yasmin Sharabi and painter Patrick Molony Harris are featuring an array of their pieces at the renowned aquabitArt gallery in Berlin Mitte as part of the “4:1 – 4 artists, 1 location” exhibition.
“All these artists have a relationship with Bahrain and with each other,” said curator Frances Stafford who held previous roles at Al Riwaq Art Space as well as the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA). “Some live and work in the country and others have travelled to Bahrain for work and ended up making art there too.
“With this exhibition, we hope to introduce the audience to Bahrain. There are still many stereotypes about the Gulf that we can overcome with a cultural exchange like this. In essence, we hope to connect a bridge from Bahrain to Berlin.”
Frances and her team chose the quote by German artist Gerhard Richter – “Art is the highest form of hope” – as their slogan to highlight the fact that art and expression is truly something that can connect people during these difficult times.
The exhibition, which was launched on August 6, is online via a 360 degree view hosted by Art at Berlin and Deeds World. The Bahraini artists were all virtually present at the exhibition via Zoom on opening day.
The gallery space, situated in the heart of Berlin, is separated into two main rooms featuring introspective drawings, visionary paintings, collaged photographs as well as paper collages and studies until the end of the month.
Bahraini Leon D is happy and optimistic to be a part of this exhibition. Frances believes his colourfully creative and mind-expanding series will be well-received.
He has 22 pieces, ranging from A5 pencil work to A3 mixed media painting, containing acrylic, glow in the dark paint and spray paint as a medium.
Leon D said: “I hope my work for this exhibition allows the viewers to have their own individual experience, especially that some of the pieces have been made to be experienced differently throughout the day to convey feelings of space, time and transcendental-themed topics.”
Frances, who also finds Yasmin’s work to be incredibly detailed and poetic said: “Yasmin’s work focuses on her travels, her own cultural background and her home of Bahrain.”
Yasmin, who is Bahraini, American and Palestinian, is featuring four drawings, each A2 size and graphite on paper.
“They’re expressive works that focus on documenting real scenes but within each image, lays a subtle message,” explained Yasmin.
Three are drawings of scenes in Lamu Old Town, Lamu and Kenya. Lamu is the oldest inhabited Swahili settlement in East Africa which she visited twice.
She added: “I was moved by the sounds, the smells and the way the light reflected off of the narrow alleyways. Vehicles are banned there, so people traverse the narrow alleyways by foot and thousands of donkeys wander around the streets. I felt a sense of nostalgia for an old Bahrain that I had never actually experienced firsthand. My work is about reality and the beauty that surrounds us if we just take the time to look.”
Her fourth drawing is called All the Kingdoms and is of the Mount of the Temptation in Jericho, Palestine. She visited Palestine twice in 2014 when she curated an exhibition with artists from the Gaza strip in Ramallah.
Meanwhile, Ali, who moved to Heidelberg, Germany in 1986 and has been working as a freelance designer in Berlin since 2003, is presenting digital colour-fields inspired by his travels to Bahrain.
Each work comprises of a photograph of Bahrain, overlaid with tinted rectilinear shapes and colours that partially obscure selected details of each image.
In 2014, Ali worked on a series of projects for BACA and other clients in the Gulf.
Patrick, who shares an art studio with his brother in Palma de Mallorca, was also chosen for his past work in Bahrain. He managed two sail painting projects for BACA where he trained Bahraini artists to paint on sails that were then sailed and displayed. His work was shown at two of Bahrain’s Annual Fine Art exhibitions.
To view the exhibition, visit www.artatberlin.com, www.deeds.world/ and follow @frances_stafford_art, @yasminsharabiart, @thyleond, @dowlatshahi and @birdsneverbored on Instagram.
