Artist: Mohammed A.

Curatorial Statement

Mohammad A.

The artworks I have chosen to display for my exhibition have the most meaning behind them and best showcase my artistic abilities. The theme of my exhibition is the layers of a person. My hope is that upon seeing my art, viewers are able to interpret their own meanings and relate to them on their own personal levels.

My first piece, Origin is a photographic collage of my old neighbourhood where I grew up. The collaged photo-joiner showcases an expanding and growing scenery with the colours shifting to a cloudy and cool-toned day to a sunset. The sunset is meant to serve as a motif as my time ending in this neighbourhood. I made this collage the same month I moved out. The idea was to show the path of life growing farther away from our origins, but through the branches and the streets we are linked back to the roots of the trees we used to play under as children. I feel that my choice to have a single street be the focal point of the collage and, the scenery expanding around it really showcases this message.

My second piece, Balance, is an acrylic-based painting of a woman whose mind has been separated into her analytical side and her creative side. The analytical side expressed in gray scale and the creative side being in colour. The painting is meant to be an homage to the concept of Yin and Yang as on the analytical side, there is colour on the woman’s face and on the creative side there is grayscale on her face. This shows how there is creativity in analysis and alternatively, analysis in creativity. This painting was personal to me as I pride myself in this balance that I have in both my creativity and analysis. The choice to cover the woman’s face in paint was influenced by Joseph Lee who in his paintings covers his subjects’ face with acrylic strokes to produce expression without the judgement of beauty. I feel as the three-dimensional aspects of this composition and contrasting colours of this piece will allow the viewer to gain their own perspective.

My third piece, Serenity is a recreation of my first watercolour painting. It is a painting of a lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada. The painting although my simplest piece is my favourite because of the peacefulness and serenity which the painting radiates. The calming and bright cool-tones of the sky and water create a beautiful scene of nature. The painting has soft application that further constructs the sense of tranquility I strived to achieve. Upon viewing this, I hope that a viewer achieves a sense of clarity that this painting gives me.

These artworks are personal and rich in meaning for me. The idea was to show different layers of a person; Origin shows growth, Balance shows emotion, and Serenity shows peace of mind. I hope that the meaning of my art transcends me personally and takes upon other interpretations from viewers.

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