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Making their mark on a variety of surfaces, 19 professional and emerging Bahrain-based artists have come together to exhibit their works at a unique exhibition, set to conclude on Sunday.
The Project Print exhibition taking place at Al Riwaq Art Space near Water Garden in Manama, is highlighting print and graphic art, under the guidance of artist Abbas Yousif.
“The new graphic and print studio at Al Riwaq was opened last year, through which artists found the platform, time and resources to hold technical workshops in silk screen printing, engraving on wood, linoleum and plastic,” Abbas explained.
“In 2000, Al Riwaq organised a joint exhibition in graphic and print art by AbdulJabbar Al-Ghadhban and myself.
“In 2011, they held a workshop in the art form, under the supervision of the late Iraqi artist Rafie Al-Nasseri, in which 13 artists participated.
“This exhibition, which I like to call Project Print, is a continuation of that beginning.”
In addition to Abbas, the exhibition features the works of Ahmed Anan, Ali Almahmeed, Ali Hussain, Ali Mubarak, Dalia Mekkawy, Dana Humaidan, Dhawiya Alalawiyat, Hamed Albosta, Hussain Almahroos, Jabar Alghadban, Jaffar Aloraibi, Jalal Aloraidh, Mahmood Abdulsaheb, Mona Almoataz, Mustafa Alnasheet, Nader Alabassi, Noor Alsairafi and Zuhair Alsaeed.
A smorgasbord of backgrounds, themes and motifs have imprinted themselves onto the walls of the gallery, ranging from a deep desire for human connection to struggles with body dysmorphia.
In Souls’ Embrace, Bahrain-based Egyptian artist Dalia, 37, (Instagram: @by_dalia_mekkawy) who is a lecturer in the faculty of fine arts at Helwan University in Egypt, used bold lines and layered printing techniques to portray a range of human emotions and lived experiences.
“Human beings are often divided by a multitude of hidden lines such as race, religion and class,” the artist, who depicted similar pieces at her most recent solo exhibition in Cairo, told GulfWeekly.
“These drawn lines stretch through space and time and fracture our ability to form genuine connections and relationships, even leading to misunderstanding and hatred.
“But the soul does not see such lines, it longs to go beyond and overcome this separation. It ebbs and flows like a silent symphony, transcending its transient boundaries to hold something eternal in its arms.
“This figurative collection captures the soul in its yearning to embrace itself and others around it. To be defiant against the lines that tear it apart is in itself an act of love, a golden language that heals the divisions and makes it whole.”
For Mustafa (IG:@nasheetoo), poetry is the golden language lining his Hidden Kindness piece together with verses written by Ali ibn Abi Talib.
The 34-year-old Bahraini creative explained that the title refers to the hidden kindness of Allah that the poet talks about in his verses, and Mustafa sought to bring these lines to life with linoleum cut stamps.
The self-taught artist integrates his lessons from cultural havens like Venice, Munich, Milan, Egypt and Istanbul into his works and previously exhibited his pieces at the 49th Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition.
The sands of history, mythology and metamorphosis within our bodies form the core philosophy of works exhibited at the gallery by Dana (IG: @danahumaidan.art) , for whom this is her first showcase.
“After more than a decade in a career based mostly on writing, I found that there are things that greatly make up our existence that cannot be put in words, and not so long ago, the artistic spark in me finally found its way,” the 35-year-old Bahraini explained.
“I would say that some solitude during the pandemic was a good push in that sense, as it gave us all time and space to get in touch with ourselves and who we really are.
“I have since been exploring my artistic side, and finding my way dabbling with abstract expressionism, learning sporadically through some traditional but mostly unconventional materials, which is where I came across a number of printing workshops held by several artist friends, namely Ali Hussain Merza, and Abbas Yousif.”
She delved into woodcut printmaking with one of her pieces, and used linoleum for the other one, imprinting both with oil-based inks.
“I actually haven’t titled my pieces, but each of them do have a distinct topic,” she added.
“For the first one, you need to know that I’m an Egyptology enthusiast. And in this piece I reimagined the Goddess Sekhmet, a women with a lion head, the goddess of war and wrath, with the wings of the Goddess Isis, the goddess of motherhood, healing and goodness. In a way I would like to say that each person is one side of a coin, and each person needs to remember they are a warrior, and a fountain of goodness at the same time.
“As for the second one, it is an homage to how much our bodies go through with us, and a celebration of stretch marks, instead of hating them. It felt as an important topic as we all, especially women, go through changes in our bodies with time, age and life experiences, while we culturally are taught to hate our bodies for doing the amazing things they do.”
The Project Print exhibition continues until Sunday, July 9.
For more details, follow @alriwaq on Instagram.
