| Yet,
instead of wallowing in the past and complaining about the
present, the two artists, she a sculpture, he a painter, channel
their energy and creativity, of which the viewer is given
ample proof, towards raising issues, generating inspiring
art, giving out a message at different levels: Humanitarian,
civic, philosophical and, above, all, artistic. Pollution,
of man and nature, is the nagging issue at their present exhibition.
But then, equally constant is the message that all 6 billion
of us, inhabitants of this hospitable earth, need to rise
above it all, transcend experiences that may lead us towards
destruction and live in harmony.
The life journey
definitely left an imprint on and inspired this talented couple,
it also made them more acutely aware of deeper concepts: Life,
death, our relation with nature and its elements, our place
on the planet. It also made their works, like their lives,
intertwined, complimenting each other, making a whole. Complex
personalities who ask many questions, and probably have found
many answers, Maha and Ibrahim love contrasts and find symbolism
in almost everything around them. He is fascinated by the
contrast between past and present, the differences among seasons,
by the many forms and effects of water, for example.
Having
to travel the length of Sweden to pick up and award, Ibrahim
reached the North Pole. The journey, by train, enabled him
to witness the four seasons within a few hours. "Like a time
tunnel", enthuses the artist. His paintings, "gardens in all
seasons", are journeys through time, each affected by its
passage in a different way, each thick brush of paint reaching
"inside", making one look for deeper meanings. The rich colours
are mostly green, ochre, black, burnt orange, gray and white.
The paintings are often grouped together, completing each
other, creating a continuum, suggesting smooth passage of
the time that eventually ravages but also regenerates.
Conveying
more symbols and putting side-by-side more contrasts, a video
installation that stars the viewer on the tour of the exhibition
invites one to mediation. Water, in different manifestations,
is the medium that conveys meanings and symbols. Purified
by coal, in one video, and steaming in a pressure cooker,
in another, the sight of water makes one ask why it needs
to be purified in the first place. Why do we pollute everything
we touch, even if at our own expense? Why is there need to
keep pressure on things, knowing that eventually the force
building inside will explode with, perhaps, catastrophic consequences?
More food for thought? Well, Ibrahim is ready to give it to
us. A breathing man, back to the camera and filmed very closely,
will almost make you breathe with his rhythm. His back expands
and contracts with every inhale/exhale exercise and his breathing
could be heard, punctuated by a bird's trill. Is it clean
or polluted air that fills his lungs? One can only guess,
but knowing that pollution is constantly on the artists' mind,
optimism is not the first feeling.
Some
paintings are covered with letters or figures. The text talks
about the one dear subject, nature, the figures of time spent
on work, inexorably passing like life and civilizations. Maha's
introspective nature, deeply philosophical and finding a multitude
of symbols in one simple line, produces installations/ sculptures
of an amazing purity and simplicity, steeped in meaning.
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Maha Mustafa
 |
Her
"red lines", startling shapes twisting, spiraling or smoothly
wavy, made up aluminum "glazed" with a shiny coat of dark
rich red, purple or black colour, are incredible stylized
symbols. Her interest in contrast is more concrete: Fire,
lava, heat versus ice. She seeks to reconcile these and do
it harmoniously. So if the red lines could be those of flowing
lava or raging fire, they can also be the so many "red lines"
governing our lives: A separation wall, "the equator that
separates the north from the south", the lines which we cannot,
should not or are not allowed to trespass and go beyond. They
could be the civilized ethic codes of conduct, but also the
cruel lines between poverty and wealth, between men and women,
between peace and war. And, in having attributed one of her
creations the name of the Dead Sea (which, incidentally, Maha
refuses to see as a dead body of water but as a life-giving
salt-producing source), the red line is simply the fault line
that passes through it and under which magma bubbles ready
to surface anytime in a devastating quake.
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Constantly seeking to keep pace with time and technological
discoveries, Maha makes use of different materials to create
art. Laser light or optic fiber are used to give life to amorphous
matter. A 220 volt heating coil, projecting in the background
of a very dark room draws the viewer like a magnet but suddenly
stops him short in his tracks: The heat emanated is forbidding.
More lines, more contrast, more symbols. And probably the
installation that gave the exhibition the name "Beyond 100º
C". Another prohibiting red line.
An ingenious installation of three frames reveals inspiration
unbound. Negative film of nature images, trying to show "the
other photo of nature, not the one the eye sees, but the one
that could be", is "bagged" in translucent plastic, each having
some sand, salt and wheat ears at the bottom, illuminated
by tiny light clusters. The light, to Maha, is symbol of the
human being: a light in himself, energy, contrast with death.
The "bags" are 'for us to take everywhere". Isn't it what
art should be? Something we carry with us and within us? The
two artists clearly believe that art should reach everyone
and their tireless effort makes sure their works leave an
indelible mark on those viewing them.
To
the exhibition |
press
clips