A new exhibition at Emirates Palace presents nine works that each tells a different story. Caroline McEneaney met the artist
Graceful Runes, an exhibition by the Sudanese artist Dahlia Mahmoud, is on display in the Emirates Palace hall from now until March 8.
The exhibition is a culmination of a five-year project by the Kuwait-based artist, who likes to combine photography, illustration, calligraphy, digital design and painting. The art display – a series of nine large mixed media canvases – combines depictions of letters from the Qur’an, together with ancient and modern iconography.
Could you explain your artistic process?
It varies depending on the project. Some projects require serious, tangible involvement and pre-production in the form of sketching, mood boards, collages and so on. Other projects are not restricted to the actual sketches or strict ideas of what the final form should look like; rather I let my imagination run wild so the colours, shapes and forms take place on the image as I go along. This is true even when I photograph; sometimes the shot is planned and rigid with attention to all details to compose a pre-imagined shot, and other times I will sit behind the lens and stare through the viewfinder until the shot forms and I capture that moment of conversation between the subjects’ and my mind.
Can you visualise the final product?
For certain projects and pieces, yes. I work with mixed media or on the computer until I achieve a close rendition to my original sketch or composition. There are times – especially with longer projects, or when creating art for art’s sake – where I simply let the pieces age along with me and dictate the direction of the paint or charcoal, its viscosity and appearance.
In this series, you draw or paint on photos. Can you tell us more about this style?
This series started as a photography project documenting the faces of women in the Middle East as I travelled through the gulf. I always believe faces are the best description of a region. They carry such definition and structure, which is unique to the location in many ways. I am inspired by stories I hear and experiences marked by skin, scars and other socially unaccepted abnormalities like wrinkles.
Traditions are often formed out of necessity, such as covering the face or wearing layered turbans to shield against sandstorms and wearing kohl for sun protection, yet they are now cultural icons that represent a region. While talking to women across the gulf, hearing their stories, points of view on current affairs and making their portraits, I started documenting their stories infused with my own memories, rituals and mantras. The series slowly started to merge after printing one image and manually morphing the features to look like a generic woman from the desert and then superimposing text, textures, icons and colours to transcribe the stories resonating in my mind.
Why do you project light under your canvases?
I’m very inspired by Daguerreotype photographs – old-style portraits that are seared on to silver – which was the first type of photography to come into widespread use. In building the image, the inclusion of light as a modern sculptural element behind the letters was a direct result of my design practice and love for Arabic typography. I use the light to pay homage to the backlit photography darkroom mechanics and as a way to subtly accent the letters as forms.
Why do you use so many images of women?
I am inspired by and indebted to the women in my life. Ever since I started taking pictures I found myself gravitating towards women and their stories. I relate to most of the experiences I hear about and continue to find raw beauty in their collective compassion and strength. Even if I don’t understand their language or have any common ground with the women I work with, I always find comfort in knowing that I am not only understood but entrusted, trusted and welcome into their private abode.
A woman’s face holds much more than the objective beauty so commonly described and rendered. Every curve and crevice holds a lifetime of scars and solitude, joy and ambition that can only be commemorated by celebrating her perseverance. A portrait of a woman is a difficult task, but it’s one that I welcome and work for in honour of my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and all the ladies who have gracefully shaped my life.
See Graceful Runes until March 8. Free. Emirates Palace, Corniche, www.kempinski.com (02 690 8929).
