‘Concrete Deaf Personality’ bags Dana Award

After the opening of the 42nd Bahrain Annual Fine Arts Exhibition on January 20 under the patronage of HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the art movement in Bahrain has its capability through the innovative talents of youth who are reshaping the art scene and making it constantly fresh. The most prominent works the jury selected will be awarded at the yearly competition.

The Dana Award, which is designed by Artist Khalil Al Hashimi, is worth BD6000.

It was awarded to Mariam Al Arab and Hussain Al Mosawi for their compositional work done titled ‘Concrete Deaf Personality’ which is composed of trunks of palm trees planted on cemented floor with a video being played talking about the identity of the Bahrain human; his culture and the relationship to the urban development movement.

On the idea of their work, Mariam Al Arab expressed that, ”I always look around Bahrain and I find a disconnection between its local community and nature, then I wondered whether Urban Development had something to do with this influence.”

Hussain Al Mosawi also added that, “When I visit the old areas of Bahrain, they feel more natural compared to newer areas with high buildings. And I think that somehow affects human identity, as identity is composed of factors that surround someone in order to construct their self. Hence, ‘Concrete Deaf Personality’ is asking questions about the impact of urban development on the cultural identity of current and future generations.”

Noting on the choice of the title, Mariam explained that cement does not contain life and it is depicted from the spread of urban development with characteristics of rigidity.

The second place was awarded to Fine Artist Hadeer Al Baqali’s ‘Liberating’ (Tajreed), in which she expressed, “My thoughts always accompany me in all my work and I translate them on the whiteness I see through visuals which completes each other and through them I find the human identity.” The production of her work included materials like painting, charcoal pen, pencils and paper.

The third place was awarded to Samar Al Eskafi for her compositional work titled ‘Warning’ (Hadhar) which expresses her feelings and thoughts towards beliefs in many cultures that links transcendence between spiritual and physical planes for an estimated period of 40 days.

Al Eskafi explained, “I always wondered what are the 40 days like when a fetus’ heart beats after 40 days and when the palm tree gets water after 40 days of being planted and other examples as well. She was inspired by the transcendence of human spirituality and physicality and she depicted it as an awakening, pointing out that she used multiple materials such as wood and translucent paper to create multiple layers with different phrases written on them.

The Bahrain Annual Art Exhibition will continue to March 20 in the Bahrain National Museum that will display works of Bahraini artists amounting up to 87 works dealing with different topics and use of materials ranging from synthetic words, paintings, sculptures, photographic works and video clips.