The latest exhibition at The Workshop, Loneliness Museum, features a new series of paintings by well-known Syrian artist Nouman Issa, that are inspired by the poems of famous Syrian poet Hani Nadeem.
The artist has used various symbols and dark figures to express the feelings of love, loss, longing and loneliness described by the poet in his emotional, soulful peoms. The show is curated by Fann a Porter.
“Hani’s poems capture human emotions, especially loneliness, oppression, and destitution with utmost sensitivity, and the vivid imagery evoked by his words lends itself to visual art. The symbols I have used are recurrent motifs in my work. The rooster signifies power and male dominance; and the bird flying high up at times, lying dead at others, or held by a leash evokes the classical concept of freedom, which may be present or absent. The key simply represents a way out or a doorway to something,” Issa says.
Nadeem has published six collections of poems, has written many plays and radio shows, and is the editor-in-chief of an international media corporation. He was present at the opening of the show, and read out his poems, providing the context to Issa’s paintings.
“I am not surprised that the great artist Nouman Issa has trans-created my collection of poems into paintings, because he too is clutching at a ray of light and searching for a rainbow amidst the suffocating smoke; he too is a smitten lover standing defiant in the face of overpowering hatred; he too is a neglected piece at this Loneliness Museum that treasures nothing but demolition and destruction. I believe that we and all those who like us have left their misery behind to give nothing but love will ultimately prevail,” he said.
Loneliness Museum will run at The Workshop, off Al Wasl Road, near Box Park until May 31.
