preparing for an exhibition in march } number one
Posted on December 9, 2012 5 Comments
I have a show coming up at the Tilal Gallery in March and I have just one work done. I think I can say with all confidence that I am in deep poopoo. I have no title for this exhibition, nor a specific direction. I’m currently working on the second piece and thinking: maybe I should make it a journal-type of exhibition; something that serves the same purpose as my 2006 show Heart & the Gutting. Because I need that sort of help now. Read More
election day. again.
Posted on December 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
I’ll keep voting,
I’ll never stop.
And if I don’t vote,
I’ll just shut up.
a blast from the very near past } a behind-the-scenes look at pgb3
Posted on November 30, 2012 Leave a Comment
faisal al fouzan } my ace shoes and fiskars
Here are some PGB3 preparation pictures that I didn’t print with the first onslaught of PGB3 photos. I just figured that people had ODed on the show. So a few behind-the-scenes shots taken by Faisal Al Fouzan who was kind enough to come and promote my exhibition through his brilliant photos. There are a couple photos by my sister Yasmine and a few by me. Enjoy! Read More
JAMM art auction tonight
Posted on November 29, 2012 1 Comment
ana-katarina and her angeline. i wonder if my mom and her four daughters think that they are looking at a painting of a woman and her little girl
I got a bit of an anxiety spell last night when I remembered tonight’s JAMM art auction. Being the control freak that I am, I’m a little out of my comfort zone when it comes to putting my work under the gavel. I couldn’t go to the preview last night and had no idea how my painting was. I feel I abandoned her. But when I woke up this morning, I was comforted by this photo posted on Instagram by Nawaf Alali. The little girl and her mom’s pose in front of the painting, ‘comparing it to [my book] body parts‘, just lifted my spirits. This moment that Nawaf captured means the world to me. And today, he is my hero.
three of four commissioned chairs
Posted on November 28, 2012 6 Comments
chair #3 } the book thief
I was recently commissioned by two pgb3 visitors to create two chairs each. Here are three of those four chairs. I’m not taking any more orders but I will be leaving my mark on other furniture so stay tuned ;). Read More
homes } birgitte simonian } los angeles, california
Posted on November 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
How lucky for this girl to be in sunny California! She now lives with Birgitte Simonian, aka Bianca’s mom. Thank you, ladies, for taking such good care of my girl! What a lovely perch she sits on.
the traveling tap
Posted on November 22, 2012 1 Comment
Last October I got an idea for an Instagram series: send my tapestries to different people around the world to be Instagrammed. Something about the idea of letting go of my work, eventually to total strangers four, five, six degrees separated from me, both enthralled me and terrified me. But I had to let go and trust that things would work out for the best. For all I knew, the tapestries would be gone forever. And I was prepared for that. So far I’ve sent two out; one I’ve lost control over, and the other I’m still not ready to completely let go of. So that one goes and comes back. I have three left with me. Still mine.
A few days ago over lunch I was asked by my two companions why I would choose to have people take pictures of my works in different locations; one asked out of intrigue, the other out of dubious curiosity. He just couldn’t get it. I didn’t have to think hard for the answers but I realized that the reasons are many. They still flow in days after that lunchtime inquisition. And these are my reasons in no particular order:
1. Pure self-indulgence.
2. Cutting out the middle-man/woman/men/women. Why do I have to wait for me to talk to my people to talk to their people when all I want is for people to see my work?
3. The tapestries are easy to carry so present no real hardships for their traveling companions (OK they’re meters long and a pain to fold but so what.) They are versatile and fun and the person who has one owns it for the duration he has it. That can only be a good thing!
4. For many reasons, it’s hard for me to travel. So these works travel for me. When my tapestry is in Cairo, a piece of me is in Cairo. When she’s in California, I’m there too.
5. I think the same people who love collecting stamps, magazines, watering cans, etc are the same sort of people who love to create series on Instagram. I’m a total series Instagrammer. So the idea of the traveling tapestry fits beautifully within that frame of thinking.
These are just five reasons. I’m sure there are more that I’ve forgotten here. The series has just taken off so is still in its infancy. I just hope that my tapestries go far. Read More
homes } khaled al-fraih
Posted on November 19, 2012 2 Comments
My Girl With a Book has found a new home in Khaled Al-Fraih’s art-filled house. Her neighbor is a Helmi El-Touni painting. Lucky her! Thanks, Khaled for sending me this photo :).
just not the same without my mac
Posted on November 18, 2012 5 Comments
On October 12th, a little over three weeks before my PGB3 exhibition, my computer fell into a coma. I died. And after that I took it to the Mac doctor who gave me a bleak prognosis: the logic board needs to be replaced, 3-4 weeks. I died again. But like a phoenix (and thanks to Instagram which provides a silver lining to every cloud), I rose from the silicon ashes (well, it did help that for a second I had my laptop, which also died on me, and consequently my sister’s laptop to see me through the next few weeks). As I said earlier, Instagram helped me through my temporary loss by allowing me to entertain myself with the series ‘justnotthesamewithoutmymac’. Here, I share my Mac-less moments with you.
pgb3 perspectives } mohammed alkandari
Posted on November 15, 2012 4 Comments
Every year, a vital part of my PGB exhibitions are my brother Mohammed’s photos and Mohammed himself. He flew in early from Bahrain to be at the exhibition, and that means the world to me. Thanks, Mo. Read More
homes } rana al-bahar & ghazi alhajery
Posted on November 13, 2012 2 Comments
lantern is a pretty little dot here. this picture took me by surprise. i love the scale!
Baseball and lantern girls seem to have acclimatized nicely to their new home, sharing it with Rana Al-Bahar, Ghazi Alhajery and their two boys. Thanks for sending the photos, Rana. You made my morning!
baseball girl looks like she’s about to wreak havoc with that ball
homes } bianca simonian
Posted on November 11, 2012 2 Comments
You can’t really see them but these are the framed postcards from my last exhibition. They watch over Bianca at night, filtering any nightmare and turning it into a dream. Plus I love the way they look with her bed covers and cushions.
pgb3 perspectives } ahmad al shammeri
Posted on November 9, 2012 4 Comments
Above is a series of photos sent to me by another pgb3 guest Ahmad Al Shammeri. His photos made me smile because a. I thought that I had seen every single angle the works could be photographed from and b. the series includes photos of people who are really dear to me (my brothers Mohammed and Ahmed, my sister-in-law Jana and son Yousef). Ahmad, I love that you took the additional time and effort to re-size these, title them with numbers and send them to me. Going above and beyond is what makes a person extra-special in my book. Thank you.
Art Musings by Ayesha Kamal
Posted on November 9, 2012 3 Comments
After every pgb event, I enjoy getting feedback from my guests, whether verbal or photographic. This, however, is a first: a written documentation of the evening by a guest who emailed me a couple of days ago with her thoughts, feelings and a dream about a murderer lurking behind a wall of tapestries. Here is what Ayesha Kamal, a professor in the English Department at Kuwait University wrote:
Art Musings (4) November 5, 2012-Kuwait (home)
Today was one of those days when little moments seemed to come together and turn into a very fulfilling day. Slight missteps during the day–a wrong turn, a cancelled appointment, an unexpected phone call–took me in unanticipated directions which all culminated in my arrival at The Arabana Project to view Ghadah Alkandari’s artwork.
I drove down the dark alley where I thought the gallery was supposed to be, slightly doubting my sense of direction and feeling a bit nervous about the lack of light and the unpaved roads of the mainly deserted area. Taking one wrong turn too many I ended up back on the main street. I checked my phone to see if I could find any directions/hints to the location of the exhibit…all I can say is thank goodness for Instagram because a friend had just posted a picture of the exhibition. I immediately texted him to ask for the location. Unfortunately I didn’t get a reply, but I was determined not to give up so I decided to give it another go. I started to feel a bit anxious–suppose I didn’t find the place? There was something inside that really made me want to go. I can’t explain what it was; perhaps it was just my stubbornness.
As I retraced my steps, a low-slung unobtrusive building suddenly stood out. In what was all darkness before shone through a bright light highlighting a painting that I immediately recognized. What a sense of relief and excitement.
spots of sunshine falling in
a big fat thank you and a whole lotta instagrams!
Posted on November 7, 2012 Leave a Comment
Well, the show has finally come and gone. I want to thank every single person who helped me with this show whether setting up (Yasmine, Alex, William, Ehsan), taking care of sales (Jana, Yousef, Yasmine), giving me moral support (my family, friends and fellow Intagrammers), getting desperately lost and giving up (Thuraya), wishing me good luck (Maysaa), and attending the show (every single person who was there). I also want to thank (damn it, I told myself I didn’t want this to read like an acceptance speech-leave that to Obama. You can skip this and go straight to the photos, I’ll never know!) my brother Mohammed for flying back early from Bahrain and always being camera-ready to make sure the show is deservedly documented, Ayesha for sending me a wonderful email this morning, Faisal the F for his quirky spin on the exhibition preparations (I will publishing special posts throughout the next few days by M, A and F, so watch out for those). Oh, and thanks to everyone who got into the polkadot spirit. I salute you!
Oh and lastly but not leastly! Thanks Confashions. I have known about Ms. Confashions for some time now and was always intimidated by her. But I discovered at my show that I know who she is personally and I totally see her in a different (better!) light. Thanks, N, for being who I never suspected you to be! And thank you for posting about the show.
Happy Halloween
Posted on October 31, 2012 4 Comments
My favorite non-holiday. All dressed up and no one to scare. Read More
a late arrival } reading her book
Posted on October 29, 2012 Leave a Comment
Sometimes (always) I get last-minute ideas.
polkadots revisited
Posted on October 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
I’m re-posting this to pump you up for next week’s show! I do hope you try to make it and enjoy yourself. As you may already know, my PGB exhibitions are about you having fun and being involved and camera ready! A reminder to put on your polkadots and charge your phones. I expect lots and lots of Instagrams to include in this year’s slideshow.
The worst thing I could have done to myself after a long week, day and night of exhibition preparation and time was looking at these photos in bed. Whatever exhaustion I felt flew right out of my laughing mouth as I LOLed myself to a state of wakefulness and excitement to get these on the post. But my reasoning got the best of me as I put my camera on the bedside table and forced myself to get to sleep. I’m so happy that people seemed to be enjoying themselves-and am a little disappointed with myself for not crashing a few of the photo sessions!). I hope I have all the names in the right places. I’m sure you’ll let me know if any are wrong!
I hope you enjoy this slideshow taken in the little room in the back, of last night’s visitors by their friends. Best taken with music.
a visit from faisal the f
Posted on October 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
faisal and the f (that’s f for favor)
I find superlatives pointless. They’re hyperbolic and highly arguable. But I’m going to say this with complete conviction: Faisal Al Fouzan, aka Faisal the F, is the best Instagrammer this country has to offer. I am, mind you, prepared to be convinced otherwise. I just don’t see it happening.
This morning on a visit to my studio-he did me a favor, thank you, F!-Faisal took some photos which I’m sharing here. I would also like to share some of his Instagram shots with you.
one of the main reasons i love faisal’s instagrams is his interaction with his subjects. and he’ll go where not many others will venture to go: the slums of kuwait which house thousands of expats living in squalid conditions. it’s evident in the moments he captures that the men, women and children regard him not with trepidation but with curiosity, if not equality at certain times
Last Chair
Posted on October 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
The last chair is finally complete! You may have noticed that my posts have not been as regular as usual. The reason for this is that my main computer slipped into a coma and now my laptop’s decided to conk out on me. So I’ve been using my handy little phone.
two more chairs yesterday
Posted on October 20, 2012 2 Comments
chairs and lanterns
I am really enjoying these! One left to go. Read More
Chair
Posted on October 17, 2012 2 Comments
I’ve been keen to start on the furniture bit of my upcoming exhibition and I finally got round to it today! My plan is to have four chairs with the theme ‘red ball’. It’s going to be fun and as always, a learning experience. Read More
a new toy } panorama
Posted on October 11, 2012 2 Comments
my friend told me about this new feature on the iphone camera that allows you to take panoramic shots up to 180º. So of COURSE i had to try it out
This is where I live and work, warts and all.
the dress i took off so unceremoniously looks quite romantic draped over the rocking chair. not so in real life
the painting on the far left has served as an inspiration for many of my works
prettygreenbullet 