Studio Visit
October
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FONDAZIONE ANTONIO PRESTI -FIUMARA D’ARTE
International Museum of Image
Terzocchio Meridiani di Luce - Sole di Mezzanotte
(ThirdEye Meridian of
Light - Midnight Sun)
Librino,Catania
Deadline: Ongoing
Terzocchio Meridiani di Luce - Sole di Mezzanotte
(ThirdEye Meridian of
Light - Midnight Sun)
Librino,Catania
Deadline: Ongoing
Call to Artist
October 2011
artBahrain visits
the working studio
of Bahrani artist
LOBNA
AL AMEEN
the working studio
of Bahrani artist
LOBNA
AL AMEEN
LOBNA Al AMEEN has developed a signature vocabulary of materials - old doors, scrap wood, marble powder, modeling paste, canvas and paper; colours in shades of blue to turquoise, red to orange and yellow which she deployed in a variety of simple wall-hugging sculptural formats.
IN HER studio, Lobna speaks about her love in collecting old wooden objects, the grain and texture it has acquired over the years. “Majority of my work is made of wood which I cut from old doors, wood scraps, bought from antique shops, and other places, “she said. “I assemble and disassemble several pieces then I put them together to make the whole. I paint them, according to the forms I see engrained on it, with acrylic paint which coat and dresses the wood, so that the actual forms begin to develop the presence of being.”
As light streams across the studio, you’ll find wood chips and graceful carving scraps on her worktable. Hanging by the corridor are her early works on heavily textured canvas combined with text, two-dimensional images and sculptural form. Lobna's work - some in-progress and several older pieces silently offer inspiration and represents a singular vision: naturalistic in its crudely carved wood and simple iconic shapes.
As light streams across the studio, you’ll find wood chips and graceful carving scraps on her worktable. Hanging by the corridor are her early works on heavily textured canvas combined with text, two-dimensional images and sculptural form. Lobna's work - some in-progress and several older pieces silently offer inspiration and represents a singular vision: naturalistic in its crudely carved wood and simple iconic shapes.
She talks about the steps that she's taken to get her current place in the art world - a respectful position that she's occupied for two decades now. She got her start studying painting with Bahraini artists and attending courses in Switzerland and the Middle East during the mid-90s. But then she found herself drawn to experimenting with textures, she discovered how much she loved working on wood. She shows off some of her tools and the bits and pieces of metal she extracted from the doors which were organized in wooden trunks she also collects. She remembers her first encounter with the material when her house was being built, “I liked wood because I feel the other materials didn't give enough back” she continues, “I particularly love doors because they are a witness to the going in and out of people, secrets, stories and events in their life.”
The trips she made to various parts of Europe and the Middle East have inspired her work and fed her rich life. When she started showing in the late 90s, Lobna Al Ameen was something of an anomaly but she became active in participating in group shows representing Bahrain in various art exhibitions in Europe and the Middle East. At the time she worked mostly on canvas experimenting on texture and exploring colour. Throughout the early 2000s the artist found herself shifting between canvas and wall-hugging wood work for her solo shows as well as collaboration with Bahraini artists and poets on projects and themes.
At the 8th International Cairo Biennale-2001, her Turquoise piece - roughhewn, alive in its raw, woody aspects set it all in stupendous motion. The four pieces arranged in seemingly random order speaks in deep language that we can grasp in the heart and gut. The object looks mysterious with carved circles formed by iron studs and deep time-etched top of the piece, painted over in turquoise reminds the viewer of mosques’ and the Middle Eastern culture , evoking themes of supplication, access and merging, closed doors and spaces to slip through. This work is a statement of faith in the power of art to communicate something of the primal essence of life, its deeper visceral experiences - ancient and yet thoroughly modern, intuitively feminine, mystical in its spiritual grasping.
At the 8th International Cairo Biennale-2001, her Turquoise piece - roughhewn, alive in its raw, woody aspects set it all in stupendous motion. The four pieces arranged in seemingly random order speaks in deep language that we can grasp in the heart and gut. The object looks mysterious with carved circles formed by iron studs and deep time-etched top of the piece, painted over in turquoise reminds the viewer of mosques’ and the Middle Eastern culture , evoking themes of supplication, access and merging, closed doors and spaces to slip through. This work is a statement of faith in the power of art to communicate something of the primal essence of life, its deeper visceral experiences - ancient and yet thoroughly modern, intuitively feminine, mystical in its spiritual grasping.
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As Lobna Al Ameen prepares for her next solo show in 2012, she cogently probes the quality and materials that have a congealed look, materials that seem lost or discarded - expressed in works resounding epic poetry and claiming their contemporary relevance. Most importantly, she exercises a refined sense of balance and control, both in the intent of the work and in its execution.
