DUBAI.- Ayyam Gallery is presenting ‘Echoes and Perceptions’, a Summer Collective with works by Abdul Karim Majdal Al Beik, Afshin Pirhashemi, Athier Mousawi, Faisal Samra, Farzad Kohan, Kais Salman, Sadik Alfraji, Safwan Dahoul, and Sama Alshaibi.
“The troublesome parts of our work, the parts that are most baffling and frustrating, are in fact the growing edges”. Stephen Nachmanovitch words about art in all of its forms can also be attributed to life’s troubled times being relevant to one’s growth or decline. Artists express their hardships in their individual ways, in times of transition, uncertainty, and despair, the varied expressions and creations create echoes which vary upon the subjectivity and perception of the recipient.
Through narrative and language, the artists’ protagonists and commentaries draw on boredom and life’s obstacles, some seem trapped within the edges of their medium while others hold on to beacons of hope such as Sadik. Although the exhibition tackles emotions which are currently heightened with the global uncertainties we all face, the works mirror a set of different and often personal circumstances the artists have and continue to live through.
The ideas of loneliness, claustrophobia, and paranoia seem to have immersed themselves in routine life. Relating to Safwan Dahoul’s trapped figure, it's experiencing the same fate at different scales, resonating with trivial repetition, spatial perception, and the theoretical aspect of distancing oneself for perspective.
Paranoia is explored further through the perplexing impact of media and social networks in our lives. Supposedly media and social platforms bring people together and keep the masses informed, yet often they are associated with pressure and lead the users towards ignorance and isolation. Athier’s ‘explosions’ exemplify information’s constant broadcast and the influx of fake news. Taking these channels’ disruption further are Faisal Samra’s works, which illustrate one’s trauma when receiving abundant amounts of news. The intensity and mass-distribution of these facts alters thoughts, actions, and opinions.
Through societal commentaries, Kais’s works evoke ideas of individualism. His work depicts how circumstances awaken various reactions within us, though individuals are illustrated together the relationship does not read. Collectivism on the other hand is referred to by the Afshin and Abdul Karim Majdal Al Beik who use universal symbols that highlight unity.
Finally Farzad Kohan’s piece echoing the latin ‘Memento Mori’, reminding us of the inevitable death. The feeling of standstill which is illustrated in Sama’s images is just an illusion, the path is drawn and this shall pass.
