The last time we spoke to Bruce Hill and his band of paintbrush-wielding cohorts in 2009, they were gearing up for their first show together at the Acento gallery. Eighteen months on, the Abu Dhabi Art Squad now boasts enough nationalities for a small football tournament, with new members from Bulgaria, Italy and the USA adding further creative variety to what’s surely the city’s most culturally diverse art collective. The group’s latest exhibition – Seven Perspectives – is currently wowing the crowds at the National Theatre. We caught up with Bruce and fellow squad members Ali Hammad and Sam Faix to find out a little more about the new show.
Are there any common themes in your work?
BH: Not really – we’re totally individual, totally sovereign artists. We’re using the group as a platform so we can all get more exposure. Then we can all go on our ways, individually if need be. A bit like a rock ’n’ roll band in that way. We just need to find out who’s the lead singer!
AH: We’re all from different places and have different inspirations that, all together, give a great variety to people who come to view our work.
Fair enough. How does the style of your work differ?
BH: My pieces are a sort of intuitive, abstract surrealism, in a style that I’ve developed over the years. So I’ve got objects popping out from the texture of the canvas, which people can interpret as they choose.
AH: I’m a realist painter. What I believe in is that everything around us is a reflection of nature, so I try to represent things the way they really look. I’ve been into realism since I started learning to paint.
SF: My work is inspired by a combination of things I see around me, things I remember from other places I’ve lived. Everything collides together in my paintings. I don’t really start with a solid idea of what I’m going to paint, I work very abstractly and things just start to happen and get carved out.
What are the biggest challenges you face as artists in Abu Dhabi?
BH: Getting exhibition space at a reasonable price. It’s so hard when you’re on your own. Forming an art group is a great way to get going if you’re new in the city. We have fortnightly gatherings at the Le Méridien hotel where people come along and show us their portfolio – we’re very cautious about the quality of the work, though, since we’re all professional artists. We’re trying to form a little node of art energy, so we can boost the grassroots scene in the city.
How would you assess the state of the grassroots scene in the city at the moment?
BH: Well, it’s pretty pathetic really, isn’t it? It’s getting there slowly, but there’s so much focus on the big art projects that are coming along in this city that we sometimes get overlooked.
How much inspiration do you take from the city itself?
AH: As a realist, I have to travel around. I’ve been around the outskirts of the city, taking lots of photographs. The more references I have, the easier it is for me to produce my work. The combination of the desert and the beautiful buildings, it’s an amazing contrast. Mina Port in particular is very inspiring.
BH: Yes, Mina is a great place, you’ve got the traditional dhows in front of all the modern skyscrapers. It sort of sums up the city.
Which pieces in the show are you most proud of?
BH: ‘Don Quixote and the Yellow City’ (pictured) is my latest piece, it’s a mixed media image with loads of texture. I found as I was painting that I’d created this sort of horse figure, which I turned into Don Quixote. I’ve used some tin foil and wire, also, so it’s quite a complex piece. I’m really proud of this one, but we don’t get too attached, do we?
AH: I disagree. For me, to sell my work is quite hard, there’s a lot of regret before I let go of my work.
I’ve sold a few pieces in this country and a few back in Pakistan. It’s just kind of sad, it’s like you’re giving away your babies!
SF: This piece, ‘Suburban I’ (pictured), is based on the development where I live, out past the airport. There’s a lot of construction going on and it’s all opening in phases – kind of like how all of Abu Dhabi is, really. I think a lot about grids in my work, I drip the paint a lot, and as I turn it it sort of makes this pattern. The highways and buildings in the centre of the city sort of curve and intertwine, but out there it’s so rigid, 90 degrees everywhere. Really boxy.
Seven Perspectives runs at the National Theatre until January 31. Entry is free. Call 02 621 5300) for more information.
