The Eye of the Artist in the Emirates

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The Eye of the Artist in the Emirates is a series of experiences and scenes which I have observed throughout the 15 years while living in the United Arab Emirates and in particular in Abu Dhabi.

 

These paintings suggest the intensity of dreams and the observation of people in different circumstances living in this great country of dunes and advanced technology. The artwork combine abstract and sensitive geometric forms juxtaposed with figurative images in a tonality of colors that permit the viewer to feel the emotions and gestures that allow a glimpse of the feelings of the characters themselves.

 

I had taken inspiration from a few photographs from the National Archive of Images in Abu Dhabi, and I had also used as support some of my own photos and sketches which were made based on the memories I have experienced while in the UAE.

 

The daily scenes observed through my wandering through the cities, towns and the desert of the Emirates, these have remained stored in my memory. Even now that I paint them, I remember the sounds, the voices, the emotions and sometimes the smell of that moment and other sensations, and it helps me to recover that memory when I am creating my work.

 

Each painting that is born makes me relive a memory, but it also creates a new memory when I am making that painting at that moment. It is a moment that I am living, remembering, imagining, feeling, and enjoying the act of being with myself. It is then, that a unique “Emirates”, which is not based on any territorial area, is born in the magical zone of art. An Emirates that for me, is so rich and intense because it helps me to go inside of myself in the solitary act of painting.

 

In each scene, time is suspended. It is a moment captured in time, which is composed of sensitive geometries that cradle the scenes where the characters and circumstances surround themselves with colors, shadows, light, and a language that only art knows how to express in its long silence.

 

Mari Gamarra