Portfolio: Acrylic

Heavy Illusion (2019)

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 Acrylic, paste and plaster on canvas – 120/120cm

Social media is the contemporary polished social problem. It was embraced so fast by the majority of people as it satisfied their human need of belonging to an ideal world; the more we pretend we are living in this ‘Perfect World’ the more we are drained in a heavy illusion of happiness and well-being.

From far we could see the attractive silvery effect of the so-called “Perfect World” with the “pretend shiny face” placed in the middle. The closer we get, cracks, glitches and imperfections in the background and the human face, would be seen; the cracks of the virtual world and its illusion of perfection.

This Is Not a Face (2019)

 

 

Medium: Expandable foam, Acrylic paint on canvas; Size: 130/130cm

Social media is the contemporary polished social problem. The unstoppable growing pressure of belonging to the social media community is leading its addicts to look and live alike. Excessive requirements are being imposed on them, from the ongoing picture-editing, to being active and reacting fast in posting, liking, sharing, commenting… that is leaving them with the sense of “No Control” over their time, emotions, privacy and individuality.

This is not a face is centralized around the idea of the Social Media Faces; how our organic face with its imperfections, is obsessively aspiring perfectness in constantly pleasing and belonging. Looking from far, the viewer starts by seeing its shininess perfection, then the closer they get, a disturbing feeling of loss of control, insecurity and glitches of this pretend perfect world are seen. The use of an expandable foam, a material known to be uncontrollable with an unpredictable result reflects the reality of the effect of this virtual realm on its addicts.

The viewer will experience an intriguing optical illusion when looking at the face, not fully getting if it is a 3D face or its negative one.

This is Not a Face was part of the Biennale of Contemporary Art 2019 – Universal Data; An exploration of our digital presence at MACAM the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum – Lebanon

 

Polished Cracked Being (2018)

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Acrylic /  Mixed Media on canvas 120/120cm

Immersed in a pretended perfect realm, the virtual world addicts are in fact living in a polished cracked reality; a decaying world.

 

 

Floating Skin (2017)

 

Acrylic / Mixed Media on canvas  65/45cm

Humans throughout their existence, developed ways to cope with the real world atrocities. Today’s general tendency surprisingly quickly embraced social media because it offered a great alternative to a so called “perfect world”. The overwhelming setup of that proposed virtual world is gradually leading humans to a peak of a collective blindness.

The majority of Human Faces had been dragged to narrow down to crust on social media. Eyes expressions and Facial muscles are forced out to the benefits of photo retouches.

The human is helplessly fading away; the eyes are shutting down and the skin fighting back by shrinking.

 

Simulated Crust (2017)

Mixed Media on canvas 30/20cm

Our world today is offering us the possibility to become a polished active character in an imaginary world fulfilling our immersive needs, mostly troubling our emotional connection to our organic identity.

The Face (2014)

Acrylic on canvas. 50X70cm

From the artist’s fascination in faces, she experimented with offering an immersive eye contact experience between the viewer and the Face triggered by an intense mixed emotion. These varied stories hiding in the in eyes, attempt to generate an electric shock aiming at activating the thrive for weightlessness, the perfect world of wonders and happiness as a self-defense mechanism.

Mostly painted with a palette knife, “The Face” holds, in addition to the strong brushstrokes, an oversaturation of a mix of dark and bright colors depicting the diversified feelings.

 

Life 2 (2015)

Acrylic on canvas – 91X76cm

This artwork is an abstract painting representing Life and its beauty in the first stages. The baby is floating in this safe warm environment reminding us that we are all born equal and highlighting the first Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.  The use of a monochromatic color scheme by the artist enhances the contrasts and creates a focus on the subject, helping creating a strong sense of visual cohesion. The softness of the face contrasts with the large strong brushstrokes in the background making the viewer aware of  the fragility of humans and their strength and ability to adjust to every hard situation they face in live if they are accepted and appreciated.