Artist Karim Abd Elmalak rests on one of his metallic wire-sculpted decorative chairs flanked by two of his mixed media paintings from his exhibition 'Zāt.'
The most significant aspect for the human psyche and spirit of being, which is the closest definition for the Arabic term which serves as this exhibition’s title, is the journey of self-discovery, and coming to terms with the dimensions, limitations and reaches of our ego and self. Abd Elmalak, in doing some soul-searching of his own in his creative process, has offered us yet another collection of painting and sculpture that bewilders in its capacity for introspection.
“As in art, so in people,” is a phrase the artist, Karim Abd Elmalak, has expressed to define his latest upcoming collection showing from Tuesday 7 February to Wednesday 1 March. The beauty of the human spirit lies in the sheer diversity of their types, orientations, and conceptualizations of themselves, others, and the world they exist within. However, the most significant aspect for the human psyche and spirit of being, which is the closest definition for the Arabic term which serves as this exhibition’s title, is the journey of self-discovery, and coming to terms with the dimensions, limitations and reaches of our ego and self. Through this understanding and the knowledge of how changes affect these parameters of the mind and self, we attain a deeper understanding of who we truly are. Indeed, only after doing so can we expect to employ this model of self-reflection to faithfully interpret the world around us with all its intricacies, secrets and enigmas of how the human soul operates in the temporal realm we call life. Abd Elmalak, in doing some soul-searching of his own in his creative process, has offered us yet another collection of painting and sculpture that bewilders in its capacity for introspection.
Abd Elmalak in his intimately philosophical thought process, refers to the German neurologist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who posited that perception as it relates to the human mind can be delineated into two spheres, the conscious and subconscious. With the former representing 10% of the human brain responsible for willpower, short-term memory and logical and critical thinking. While the latter 90% which functions as the main source for human behavior and therefore the most predominant capacity of the human mind, as the part that controls; feelings, spirituality, habits, values, reactions, long-term memory, imagination and intuition. This collection is therefore the artist’s own illustrative psychoanalysis of sorts, a concerted quest to elaborate and extrapolate on the essence of the subconscious mind that we are each beholden to, and how it determines our conception of self in the truest sense of the word, a word which itself confounds as much as it describes. “Through this journey, I realized that self-awareness is an appetite for reconciliation with the beauty within us,” the artist surmises of his recent work, and this common thread and focus on introspection is present throughout each of the works herein.
Abd Elmalak’s demure heroines remain the protagonists of his art, and he advances through their formidable physical presence, a distinctly metaphysical message and evocation. He accomplishes this with various illustrative techniques he is fond of, including; mirroring, blending, juxtaposition, overlaying and superimposition. In doing so, we see the contemplative figurines that he is known for, in various states of serenity, bliss, tranquility and silent reflection. These women are not seen in isolation however, as Abd Elmalak imbues them with various symbolic landscape and architectural imagery that emerge in intimate unison with their physical presences. Archways representing the passage between states of being or consciousness, stairwells alluding to the ascent to a higher mental plain, seemingly endless pathways signifying the unceasing quest of human discovery, and finally the hourglass and boat representing respectfully, the fluid yet intransigent concept of time and the vessel upon which we make our journey through time, the voyage of life. Abd Elmalak has also succeeded in developing a new form of creative output, as he marries the pensive message of his art with furniture as sculpture, combining form and function harmoniously in his telltale compositional style.
