ي هذه المرحلة اكيد تغيرت اشياء كثيرة ومفاهيم الحياة وبالتالي يصبح الانسان اكثر تفكيرا في كل شئ وبما فيهم الفن وطريقة تنفيذ اعمال تشع با الامل فهذا الخوف والرعب اليومي الذي روج له السياسيين والاعلام يفقد البشرية الامل ويدمر الخطط والبرامج المستقبلية .

انا انظر الى دور الفن بشكل مختلف تماما فالفن رؤية عميقة تجتر المشاعر الصادقة مع امتلكها القوة للموجهة واستشراف المستقبل للبشرية .

هنا يجب اعادة النظر في كل شئ والتخلي عن القولب الجاهزة التي روج لها خلال السنوات السابقة مثل حقوق الانسان والديمقراطية والمساوه .

يجب على العالم التوقف عن التفكير بالحروب والدمار الذي بسببة على المسنوى الانساني والمادي ووضع افكار جديدة للتعايش

وباء كورونا 19 اوقف الزمن للحظة فارقة وجعل الانسان يفكر اكثر

طبعا هناك كم هائل من المعلومات حول هذا الوباء الى ان اصبح ممل جدا واصبح كل الناس اطباء

انا امارس حياتي العادية امارس الرياضة في الهواء الطلق وامشي قربة الساعتين بين الحقول ثم اعود بطاقة ايجابية الى اابيت وانا ممتلىء بالامل والافكار الايجابية وادخل الى مرسمي اكمل ما لم يكتمل .

طبعا هناك تاثير مباشر على الحالة الاقتصادية (المادية) فكل شئ توفف المعارض الفعاليات فالفنان اكبر جهة متضررة ولكننا على امل ان تعود الحياة افضل من السابق

وعلى هذا الامل نعيش

"In difficult times we trust: In moments like what we are facing right now, my role as a citizen is to observe, trust and follow the process in order to cope with the pandemic challenges. As an artist my first reaction was to ensure I have enough supplies for me to continue my practice. Two weeks ago I called my canvas supplier in Sharjah to place an order however he informed me he was out of stock due to the closing of his factory in China. I panicked for a minute and called my best friend to inform her about my crisis with fear that I won't be able to produce during this time. As a solution, I ended up going to different bookstores in Abu Dhabi and bought available canvases in the market.

As a result of the of this crisis, I realized I am facing a forced déjà vu of Versailles: a recent installation of 50 paintings hung in salon-style at Warehouse 421. That's the true beauty of life, finding coping mechanisms in unique situations."

“There is a peculiarity to the Quarantine period in terms of rearranging the ideas and concepts that I am working on through my artwork, the Quarantine was like a space with dimensions concerned with reformulating and organizing artistic thought in particular and lifestyle in general. Quarantine had advantages that could demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of my artwork and try to develop these points in a way that depends on the use of time in artistic research and experiments more intensely for any previous time.”

“The best part is the time I have

I’m still pretty busy with different projects

But for the longest time I’ve been such a workaholic juggling 4 jobs at once that it was really burning me out.

Now I have more time for myself and to focus on the quality of whatever it is I’m doing.”

“I was in the middle of my residency in New York when the pandemic escalated during March, and I had to come back home because of the uncertainties ahead. It is a shock initially as you’re jumping from the heart of contemporary art into the sudden isolation of your bedroom, but I think this idea of solitary is not new to an artist. You are always alone with your work when you step into the studio, whether you are painting or merely just looking at your work.

Of course, other important events also took place since this pandemic started, and you are left evaluating many aspects of life and the work you do. I recently moved into a new studio too, so getting work done has been slightly difficult as I’m still trying to settle into my new environment. But this past year has made me question why I like certain things in art, why I like this or that artist, and it also gives me the chance to step back and look at what I have done, and where do I think I’m heading next with my work, especially from the experience of being in NY, which frankly can be exhausting but I think it is part of the natural development of an artist.”

“In my last paintings nature has carpeted the walls of our houses and formed living tapestries. These urban landscapes welcome family objects. They trigger the vanishing memory of our homeland.”

"In all honesty, quarantine was a blessing in disguise, 2018, and 2019 have been some of the toughest years I've experienced with limited time for myself, family, art, or even simple everyday pleasures. I felt like I was in an endless race without a finish line in sight. Quarantine was an opportunity to breathe once again.

Since my family and I are based in different cities, I moved back in with my parents for quarantine and they graciously offered me space to set up a make-shift studio. As soon as I set brush to canvas I just couldn't stop, it's as if I was making up for lost time. Most of my work is inspired by nostalgia, and in quarantine, everyone was feeling nostalgic towards something, so inspiration was plentiful.

As a journaler, my daily journals also inspire my work. We all write, however, we do not have a common language. Through my work, I create what I like to call "a Universal Text" where anyone viewing my pieces can relate to what is "Written" in some way or another. In essence, my works are hidden letters to the world where the content is different to each viewer.

I feel that this pandemic has made my work even more powerful since we are all going through struggles together as human beings and we need to vocalize or express our sentiments in one way or another or have an embodiment of our sentiments around us."

“As a mother of four and an artist who’s trying to find balance amidst this collective shared experience it’s definitely taken me and the rest of the world by surprise and has made my everyday life more challenging.

On one hand, I realized that there were many things I took for granted such as the ease of travel, human connection and a quiet coffee break (home learning and all that has definitely been a challenge). On the other hand, the challenges of being so confined has also been quite liberating, shedding light unto our fragile human nature. I no longer take things like time, space and communication for granted anymore, I am not just aware of my surroundings but also my state of mind. I try to produce what I can in the given time frame and sometimes that means responding to emails, scanning old work, sketching, writing and even cleaning my cameras.

I have also just moved so I have been spending a lot of time organizing my studio and it was lovely to be reacquainted with old books, projects and equipment. It was quite beautiful reading through my old texts and flipping through old sketchbooks. I reunited with old texts and projects that I have done decades and years ago and it has inspired me to keep the creative juices flowing during these absurdly surreal times.

Most of my photographic work takes place outside my studio. A lot of my work encompasses field studies documenting various establishments and spaces and talks a lot about the human experience and narrative in space. The pandemic has made it an impossible task to move around freely conducting my studies, however I have made various visits to my old house documenting and shooting it and exploring the premises; seeing it in a way that was very different to when I was living in it. We were in a huge rush to move out that I had not had time to grieve over the memories left behind. We moved out a day before the lockdown so you can imagine the chaos that prevailed; that memory will always be embedded in me; the rush of it all. I do not know how I managed to pull through.”

“After my last Artist in residence in Austria at AIR Krems December 2019 –January 2020 where I developed my project of Masks that I have started in Morocco, I worked on the behavioral controversies of individuals and leaders from different cultures between the Arab and the western ones.

I came back to Morocco my home country where I am quarantined at the moment, During this time I mainly chose to meditate my artwork and concepts since creating comes out of a necessity and a need and not only a creative action fitting the time of crisis, I have mostly been misunderstood when people looked at my work and associate it to the current situation in the world while my work has been existing way before the pandemic.

Mainly I am asking myself is art as important as the other subjects in life? Will Art be more considered in the future after this Health emergency and how I will digest artistically this period of time with its ups and downs?”

“There Is No Place Like Home!

I am a London-based artist of Iraqi origin. Similar to many artists at present, I do not have access to my studio due to the Covid-19 predicament and have resorted to making art that is practical within the means available; small works on paper.

Embracing the ‘Stay Home Save Lives’ message has prompted me on a mission; to draw the interior of my ‘home’ from every vantage point possible; a visual diary documenting this surreal moment in history from my personal point of view.

In a complete departure from my usual large scale geometric abstract art, I am re-discovering my drawing skills through direct observation of every inch of my home but also reflecting on the notion of ‘home’ and its implications. In this process I am finding immense pleasure, peace and solace. The last time I made this kind of work was way back in the mid 1970s as a student of architecture in Baghdad University where ‘free hand’ and ‘still life’ was part of our training. We would often go beyond the confines of the classroom in a quest to draw traditional Baghdadi houses lining the banks of the Tigris and the narrow alleyways of the ancient city.

Despite the uncertainty and turmoil of today, there has been an abundance of solidarity, humanity, joy and beauty across the globe, and ‘earth’ is for the first time, in peace. I feel more connected not only with the present and what matters most, but also with the past, re-living treasured memories of what was once my home in that golden city at the heart of the cradle of civilisation. I like to think of it all as a positive outcome of these challenging times.”