A new canvas

Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani is known for his exploration of socio-political topics such as war, religion, sexuality, greed and death. But the Abraaj Capital Prize-winner's latest exhibition, titled Marie, Marie, the devil in me has taken you for a ride, is quite different in style and message. Its "Mother and Child" theme draws on the birth of his child. But, although this series has been inspired by his experience of fatherhood, it is essentially about the artist's attempt to connect with his inner child.

Sahmarani has used a vibrant palette, unusual colour combinations, powerful brush strokes and thick impasto textures to create canvases that are full of life and movement, reflecting the energy, restlessness and ever-changing moods of a child. His compositions are quite abstract, with the riot of colours and strokes morphing into figures of mother and child — and sometimes — father. "I was present at the birth of my baby, and the moment was like an explosion of joy. I wanted to create a similar explosion on my canvases with my brush," he says.

The artist began work on this series when his child was three months old and had not planned to exhibit it. "Having her around somehow made me feel that as an artist my work should not only be kind of a reportage of what is happening in the world. It should also reflect my personal experiences and what is within me. I wanted to forget everything I have done before and get back in touch with the essence of being an artist, which is to search within and find an individual vocabulary to express myself. I wanted to experiment with the elements of painting such as the medium, texture, brush strokes and assemblage of colour. I did not follow any rules or styles and began each day with an open mind allowing my feelings on the day to take each painting in a different direction," Sahmarani says. "A simple theme of Mother and Child gave me the freedom to focus on the other aspects of painting. So, although this series was sparked by the arrival of my baby and my subject is the baby and parenthood, this work is not about the baby. It is about painting and the condition of being a painter."

Sahmarani's works have always been deeply influenced by the great masters of the past. His compositions in this series are also inspired by classics such as Michelangelo's Dondi Tondo and Leonardo da Vinci's paintings of the holy family. The series includes a set of small oil and water-colour paintings of a mother and child. The title of this set, Post Madonna and Child, alludes to the contemporary presentation of a classical theme and composition. The rest of the series comprises large canvases, often with the figure of the father in the background, titled Lonely I Feel, Lonely I Trust. However, the title does not refer to a father feeling excluded from the special bonding between a mother and child. It refers to his loneliness as an artist.

"I sometimes feel lonely in my art practice because artists today are experimenting with many new media and painting seems to have been relegated to the background. Also, most contemporary art is about socio-political issues, rather than personal experiences of the artists. But my baby has made me feel free and confident. I trust myself and have the conviction to go on this new path of being the way I am, regardless of trends and commercial demands. I also have trust in the great artists of the past whose work has inspired me to go back to the essence of painting," he says.

All these thoughts and feelings are encompassed in the title of the show, Marie, Marie, the devil in me has taken you for a ride, which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to what others might think of his work. "My emotional, unstructured, expressionist outpouring of colours and textures may be seen as a devilish perversion of a revered and iconic subject. But I believe in myself and in what I have created," Sahmarani says.

"This departure from my earlier work may be just a small step in a new direction, but I am excited about where it could take me. I like this feeling of calming down and taking the time to focus on the medium itself, and working with light, colour, form, history and personal feelings that are the essence of painting. It is a new language that has helped me to communicate with my inner self and find the child in me," he adds.

Marie, Marie, the devil in me has taken you for a ride will run at Lawrie Shabibi gallery until February 16, 2012.