Kuwait, October 26 (BNA) At first glance, the miniatures painted by artist Dana Al-Rasheed seem to belong to a different era. However, with a heavy emphasis on detail, one cannot help but notice the contemporary aesthetics, which evokes a sense of social awareness and activism on important issues in Kuwait.
From documenting modern heritage architectures now demolished, and critiquing social issues, to the coronavirus pandemic, Al-Rashid miniatures have captured such facts with restored ancient art.
Al-Rashed said, in an interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), that she began drawing miniatures in 2020 through her works displayed in the Gulf Museum of Digital Art (KAM) and other places.
KAM, founded by Emiratis Manar and Sharifa Al Hinai in May 2020, is the first digital museum to promote and support the work of Gulf artists in the region.
“I felt like I was using a historical style close to our identity,” she said, adding that by emulating Islamic miniatures – an art form that flourished in the 13th century – people here will feel a sense of belonging and connection.
On the topics of her miniatures, Al-Rashed, who also publishes art on her kw.miniature Instagram account, said that the work touched on several topics ranging from documentation to criticism.
In her miniature “In Destroying the Ballasts” that was shown in the virtual exhibition “The Architecture of Memory” at the Gulf Museum of Art from September 29 to March 31, 2022, Al-Rasheed said there seemed to be a misconception about the idea of historical buildings.
People believe that an adobe building must be built or built and it must be built in the pre-oil era in order to be of value. This is not true, Al-Rashed argued, adding that the post-oil era saw development in many areas including architecture.
In the case of Al-Sawaber Complex, the artist points outD that the activists exhausted all possible legal means to stop the demolition of the facility, which was built in the early eighties for housing.
Architects have suggested ways to transform and renovate ballasts into artistic and commercial spaces for their perseverance.
In the miniature “The Last Skate” – which, in a technical sense, depicts the last day of the Kuwait Ice Rink – I reported that many people confused activists’ motives towards stopping the demolition of the facility as emotional rather than fact-based. .
“It (the arena) has a historical value,” stressed Rashid, an architect by profession at the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) tasked with preserving the historic buildings.
The ice rink, constructed in the late 1970s in cooperation with France, was opened as a facility in the early 1980s to meet the leisure needs of the residents. It is considered one of the first facilities of its kind in the Middle East.
As part of her work, Al-Rasheed took measurements of the ice rink before it was demolished. I decided to commemorate the building with a beautiful drawing of the last ice skating session.
Apart from documenting the structures, Al-Rasheed commented on current issues related to social causes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a miniature depicting a delivery worker grappling with inclement weather, Al-Rashed noted that people sometimes take such services for granted without thinking about the challenges facing service sector employees.
“I was trying to use a saturated and dark color scheme…I also wanted to portray the stifling feeling that the driver(s) might feel when they’re wearing this suit and in extreme weather,” she said.
She was pleased to hear that some legislation was in place to help delivery workers avoid hardship and improve their lives.
In her depiction of the developments of the Corona virus, Al-Rashed directed many works of art such as “Al-Hakim (The Wise) and the Plague” and “The Spread of Panic”, and the Gulf Museum of Art has acquired the last work. Collection.
Al-Rasheed said that the miniatures with an epidemic character developed in concept as the situation progressed, adding that she looked at the piece “The Wise and the Plague” in a new light as more information related to the epidemic was revealed.
In the “Panic Spread” mini, she said she wanted to capture the alarm and the fear…how surreal it was to see when she went to the groceries or liked to go to Co-Ops and see how many items were out there.
When creating the miniatures, I revealed that each piece begins with an initial sketch in pen and paper, which is then scanned to a computer.
After that, the tightening process begins, and it takes about 20 to 50 hours depending on the piece.
Al-Rashed said the advantages of working in digital media are the ability to adjust art when driving and the diversity of color schemes, explaining that she plans to create miniatures using ordinary tools.
Regarding the reactions towards her art, Al-Rashed indicated that the reactions were mostly positive and very welcoming, stressing the need for more support within Kuwait to help advance the visions of the artists.
She said the miniature project was a success, because it was impactful and did not detach from reality, adding that people loved works of art that “give their opinions a voice” and asserting that art and activism can change people’s opinions on matters of critical importance.
FKN