crotches, cats, dervish dancers and a sole penguin|abed el kadiri|identity turbulences
i found my camera gravitating towards the crotches in abed's works. when i spoke to him afterwards, he stressed the importance and simplicity of a pair of jeans
I always enjoy the FA Gallery exhibitions. There’s something about the building itself both on the outside and in which is warm and welcoming. The openings are always a great buzz and more often than not I like the work I see. But this time there was more. Abed El Kadiri’s work moves me. Rare for me at Kuwait’s exhibitions, his paintings make me want to go home and paint. When it’s evident that the artist enjoyed himself and that he allowed himself to experiment with different media, subjects and materials (while maintaining a pleasing aesthetic), then that’s infectious. I don’t have much time to paint this week, but when I get to starting again next week, I’m sure to come back to this post for inspiration.
The exhibition is up until May 7, 10 pm.
i tried to find all the kitties in abed's paintings. here's one
and another
and another
camels and fast cars
obedient pet. this looks like franz marc and marc chagall had a love child and called him abed
a brazilian family, suhaila al-najdi's shoes and mine
the gallery 'ends' with these rather fucked up (in a good way) portraits. no jeans, no animals, no forms. just a jumble of a face in each frame
and that sole penguin i mentioned earlier
oh and one more thing! this work covered a whole wall at one end of the final gallery. on the floor you see a formation of ibreejes, or water jugs used in this part of the world for washing one's bum after using an arabic style toilet. they remind me of our trips to the desert when we were little. they hold a special place in my heart
i had no idea suhaila and i were being photographed here. at least not by someone other than myself. this is the shoe picture you saw above. i stole it from abed's exhibition photo album on facebook.
