Tania Beaumont
Style: ‘I suppose I think of myself as a painter-printmaker – realistic mixed with contemporary.’
Background: ‘I like to use old ephemera: documents, photographs, luggage labels and so on. I’ve always liked the look of old things. I lived in Tangiers for years and I used to find some fabulous stuff at the flea market. Elsewhere, I’d scour the junk and second-hand shops of England. I also find things in the street and use them – I found someone’s voting papers recently.’
Local inspiration: ‘I’m not that into new buildings, but the reflections in their windows I find fascinating. The big ADCO building in Khalidiya reflects some fabulous blues and greens. You should be able to find inspiration anywhere. Nothing is handed to us on a plate.’
What can we expect to see? ‘The etchings are reflections in windows and the oil paintings are of some Indian shoes.’
I’m an artist because… ‘It’s a strange thing. Once you’ve started doing art seriously, you can never walk around things without a view to doing a picture of them.’
Julia Ibbini
Style: ‘My work is a sort of collage. I take pieces from the elements of paintings, photos and ink drawings and build them up on a computer.’
Background: ‘I’ve been here all my life. I was brought here by my parents as a baby and apart from studying away at university in the UK, Abu Dhabi is my home. I was initially involved in the original Jalal’s Art Trip [a project by the Ghaf Art gallery to take budding artists and give them a chance to exhibit]. It was one of the first exhibitions I did here in the UAE and was a good start. Jalal was very encouraging. But I’d been producing art for several years beforehand.’
Local inspiration: ‘These pieces are almost like a diary for me. I build up images from the places I’ve visited, pull them all together and each piece tells a story. It’s about the places I’ve been to and how I feel when I’m there. The way it works is that I have a massive database of imagery and depending upon what has inspired me, bring them together.’
What can we expect to see? ‘These pieces predominantly focus on the UAE – mainly the northern part. I’m very much in love with the mountains and the coast, and these works derive from my travels in these areas, photographing and painting.’
I’m an artist because… ‘It’s my passion. It’s my life.’
Ines Landmesser
Style: ‘Semi-abstract – at the moment it’s about 90% paintings, but I like to diversify my work and go in more than one direction.’
Background: ‘I moved to Abu Dhabi 20 years ago and ran pottery classes at the German school for seven years.’
Local inspiration: ‘The theme of movement is a large part of my work. Last year I started to focus extensively on the idea of ‘open space’. By this, I mean two kinds of basic open space: the Abu Dhabi open space experience and space for myself to develop. It’s also been a way of seeing the Emirates develop throughout these years.’
What can we expect to see? ‘In my oil paintings I show small figures and persons moving towards one another or in different situations.’
I’m an artist because… ‘I like to look beyond that and go into different situations and it is my personal thing.’
Liza Green
Style: ‘It’s quite varied. I use stitching, paper and fabric to deconstruct and remake.’
Background: ‘I moved to the UAE about seven years ago. I trained in textiles and fashion design and I think it influences what I do in the way that I like to make things and I usually stitch and construct textiles in amongst the paintings.’
Local inspiration: ‘I’m influenced by what people do to their environment. There is quite a lot of work that I did previously to do with the disintegration of the desert landscape and replacing it with buildings and construction. Before, this was all to do with Dubai, now it is Abu Dhabi.’
What can we expect to see? ‘I’ve done a large painting about the closure of Salam Street and a smaller scale painting along the same theme using thread and gold leaf. Yes, I would say it’s angrier than my normal work.’
I’m an artist because… ‘I really have to express myself and share my feelings with other people.’
The Hemisphere Exhibition runs until May 10 Visit www.hemisphere.ae or call 02 676 8614 for information.
