"Something is missed" by Elham Ghussein

Living in a modern world of rapid technological and economic development, which often neglect the human attainment, creates a conflict in humankind between the inner-self and outer world. I believe that art could be a remedy for such ignorance about human nature and can play a significantly important role in understanding the true meaning behind humanity. My body of work is centered on exploring people’s emotions and inner conflicts as a result of life’s struggles and demands. I aim to dive deeper into a dichotomy of the human nature and along the vision of bringing the audience to visualize inner conflicts, which diminish the human’s inner light without the use of words.

Growing up in a middle eastern society, I became aware of how ‘not reaching specific standards’ can affect people poorly, I became aware of an identity crisis and by that, I was intrigued. For the first time I began to ask myself questions and found answers in my pieces.

To dig deeper into the surface vision I had, I was further inspired by the work of amazing artists. From Antony Gormley (contemporary), Henrik Uldalen (contemporary), Ai Weiwei (Excessivism), Mikhail Vrubel a Russian artist. All of which have distinctive styles. To name a few, influencers did not only build a strong base for my exhibition, but helped me shed light on a topic that was important, still is relevant and will continue to be important and relevant for the future generations to come.

The abovementioned artists helped expose me to define my style in terms of different techniques, like oil paint, casting, digital painting and sculpting, which evidently takes place throughout my exhibition. Hence, one of my direct influencers is the modern Norwegian oil painter, Henrik Uldalen, who produces inconceivable scenes through his figurative paintings. He influenced my piece “Janus” (the Greek God of transitions) signifying that through our transition process we get a distorted effect, showing inner conflicts using application of paint creating texture that results in distortion, yet there is still something beautiful within. Having two concepts that juxtapose one another; the fragility of life along with delicate beauty, which is conveyed by the figure being contrasted against dark backgrounds, ensuring the figure as a focal point, as well as the employment of similar color scheme. Correspondingly, my next piece “Nacre- Mother of Pearls” appears roughly in texture, combining two contrasting materials; ropes and pearls that again juxtaposes each other and thus allowing the audience to interact with the piece.

Along my exhibition, a common theme evidently takes place throughout my paintings and photography pieces. A gap within a soul that articulates from the dark, void of human disconnection causes human features to dissolve. Through exploration, the use of different medias, my intentions became stronger as some viewers prefer tangible object like my 3D pieces, while others prefer intangible soul substances, thus my pieces deliver my intended message clearer to the audience, while inclining the aesthetic. For example, “Coccyx” shows the struggles of the environment on one’s body and even tailbone, which is the last aspect to decay. Even though this piece is a painting, I added a physical metaphorical representation to induce my intentions.

To show my journey on the subject matter, the arrangement without a doubt helps in bringing together all the pieces, in order for the audience to relate with them and create a connection between my work and their individual lives and experiences. Hence moving along my exhibition, I displayed unconventional pieces that appear highly in texture, then gradually transitioned into traditional media with pieces of similar colors and mediums. My body sculpture (largest piece) was placed in the center to attract the audience from all sides. I want my exhibition to have a peaceful vibe to it, since the theme is significantly tangled to my deepest stances, I desired my audience to feel at peace when they witness the demonstration.

Throughout this exhibition, realistic painting methods were utilized, yet there was also a hint of abstract, as it was used to draw the attention of the viewer’s imagination. While the audience is looking at the interconnected collection, they’ll be able to perceive the message behind the pieces and them being left with an unconscious effect.