KUWAIT: Embodying women’s dreamy nights, and the recall of their deeply buried memories, Artist Leen Khalouf has poured personal experiences and narratives into emotionally captivating art pieces. "I drew inspiration from myself, and from women around me to paint these illustrations,” she said.
The art pieces which portray women with their closed eyes, were showcased at the "Blink” art exhibition on Thursday at the Hub Café. Through the adornment of meticulously crafted details, Khalouf intended to deliver a profoundly emotional state of grief. "I wanted to reflect the most common emotions that women felt inside their homes, which they escaped from just by closing their eyes and traveling into another imaginary world that’s beyond any boundaries,” Khalouf noted.
In contrary to the melancholic facial features that were expressed through the paintings, Khalouf mostly relied on bright colors to reflect the better reality that women aimed to live, far from society’s standards and limitations that have long imprisoned them in their negative emotions. According to Khalouf, the chance to unshackle the mind from its chains and let one’s thoughts roam around can only be found during times of solitude, which explains why she mostly painted lonely women in the portraits.
The freedom found in solitude, the pain felt from one-sided love, and the strength derived from women empowerment are all different themes that Khalouf’s paintings conveyed in a seamless manner, which the attendees agreed upon. "The artworks represent a harmonious interplay of elements, accurately conveying the experiences of these women through the well-made choice of colors and composition,” visual artist Abdelrahman Al-Hmali said.
The paintings also evoked psychological feelings that could be triggered at first glance, as Ronald Grant, a psychology teacher, noted. "The emotions are very relatable, as we all have experienced waking up in the middle of the night and feeling deep sadness in the chest because of a dream or a night terror that brings with it a sorrowful memory.”
Strongly mirroring the artist’s personality and sensations, the artworks turned from just simple illustrations to vividly represent real situations that the attendees could relate to. Yousif Al-Qallaf, a visual and caricature artist, highlighted the most unique thing about the exhibition. "You can feel the soul of the artist spilled in the paintings, even in the women’s illustrated features that are similar to hers,” he said. In an attempt to follow the lead of the historical artists Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne and Modigliani, the artist found herself highly influenced by them in her pieces that embraced the modern art of expressionism.