Summer Collective: Strata
Asaad Arabi, Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik, Farzad Kohan, Mouteea Murad, Tammam Azzam, Thaier Helal
Ayyam Gallery, Dubai
Through 10 September 2021
FARZAD KOHAN
Migration Stories #21, 2016
Mixed Media on canvas, 148 x 116 cm
© Farzad Kohan, courtesy Ayyam Gallery
Ayyam Gallery presents “Strata” a collective exhibition featuring works by Asaad Arabi, Abdul-Karim Majdal Al-Beik, Farzad Kohan, Mouteea Murad, Tammam Azzam, and Thaier Helal.
The word “stratum” comes from the Latin meaning “something that has been laid down”; a stratum is a layer, whether abstract like the social strata of humanity or one of several physical parallel layers arranged one on top of another like cells in an organism. What the exhibition’s multi-media artworks have in common is the focus on strata. Not only does each layer reference significant themes in each artists’ work, but it also highlights essential techniques from each artists’ practice.
The physical layers of acrylic paint, glue, sand, collage, and paper are metaphors — each stratum becomes abstract, representing emotion and memories. In MOUTEEA MURAD’s work, each color illustrates a sentiment and point of view. The contrasts create a more extensive timeline, emitting a broader picture of reality and the artist’s struggles and triumphs. At times the layers represent chronology, layers of moments and instances. Just like sedimentation catalogs the globe’s past, the artists catalog their lives in the artworks. THAIER HELAL’s Untitled sculptural works echo strongly with this idea, as a matter of fact, the work is strongly influenced by the physical attributes of natural settings. ABDUL-KARIM MAJDAL AL-BEIK’s works archive stories by depicting Middle Eastern walls through the years, recording layers of posters, papers, and graffiti - creating a storyline.
TAMMAM AZZAM and FARZAD KOHAN’s works highlight the idea of “Strata” through style. Both artists focus on collage in their practice, whether digital or conventional, Tammam Azzam’s introduction of material against the cityscape backdrop creates a function, aesthetic, and process. Farzad Kohan and ASAAD ARABI make out their shapes and figures through superimposed color while focusing on narratives of identity.
