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Ardent artist Rehab Ras Romani has been highlighting Bahraini women in her artwork as she continues to find intersections between her passion for art and profession of dentistry, most recently bringing smiles to visitors’ faces at Bahrain Contemporary Art Association’s (BCAA) 48th Annual Art Exhibition.
The 35-year-old artist, who also works as a dentist, exhibited some of her favourite pieces at the exhibition, which took place at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain Convention and Spa last week, and is eager to showcase her work in more exhibitions.
“I started my artistic journey in school, where I loved painting on the walls of the school! With the teacher’s permission, of course,” Rehab confessed to GulfWeekly.
“I used to buy many sketch books and draw in them using pencils in my school summer holidays, which led to a love for charcoal and then oil paints.”
As she grew older and time got scarce, practicality pushed her towards the domain of acrylic paints, where she currently works.
Acrylic has also helped the artist add more texture to her paintings, to add more life to them. Having joined the BCAA in 2012, she found a mentor in artists like Abdulkarim Al Orrayed, who co-founded the organisation.
She has also participated in a Colours of the East exhibition at Seef Mall.
She has also found that her profession as a dentistry has informed her aesthetic choices and vice versa, finding a common goal in making people happy.
There is also a necessary attention-to-detail that comes with both, that has informed her artistic journey.
“Art nurtures a deep happiness within me, giving me visual and spiritual nourishment and builds my confidence,” she exuded.
“I have always admired paintings with Arabic calligraphy and I think it is a great thing to learn, I love integrating Arabic calligraphy in my paintings, and with every piece, I learn more about it.”
Rehab draws inspiration from Bahraini poets like Abbas al Mosawi, Mohsen Ghareeb and Ahmed Annan as she highlights women in traditional dresses, highlighting Bahraini jewellery designs and clothes.
In particular, she is fascinated by incorporating gold colours and foil into her work.
One interesting feature about her more recent work is the artistic obfuscation of the subject’s eyes, which she has delved into over the last couple of years, to highlight the influence and mystery around women.
She has also been venturing down the alleyways of abstract art, because of the varied perspectives she get from art aficionados. As she continues her artistic journey, she hopes to encapsulate more of Bahrain’s identity within her pieces.
“Our culture is our identity and personality and it makes us distinctive,” she explained.
“With art we can conserve our cultural heritage and convey its values and history.”
To check out more of her art, follow @rehabz_art on Instagram.
