‘Int’l artists depict global issues through colours of Jordan’

AMMAN — Drawing inspiration by the colours of the Jordanian desert, international and regional artists participated in a symposium in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, earlier this month to depict their thoughts and impressions on various issues after a tour of the Kingdom.

A group of 20 artists from Jordan, Italy, India, Mexico, Russia, Germany, Georgia, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Qatar and Bahrain took part in a meeting held at the Ayla International Art Symposium, to “depict the world through their eyes”, organisers said.

“In 36 art pieces, the artists managed to portray the overall environment of the world from Jordan’s tourist places,” curator and artist Mohammad Jalous told The Jordan Times.

“Artist painted their pieces to reflect personal, political and social issues. Through the paintings, we notice earthly colours and shades of brown to represent the soil of Jordan and the stones of Wadi Rum,” he explained.

Jalous said most paintings focus on the human figure, to make the pieces more personal and relatable.

“An example is the painting by artist Rashid Diab that shows the Sudanese woman. In addition to the human aspect, we see modern art styles. Artists depicted issues in abstract and expressionistic paintings,” he added.

The role of the symposium, the curator noted, is to “promote dialogue between artists from all over the world”.

“Other than painting, they had the [human-to-human] relationship, intercultural communication, and the exchange of materials, talents, experiences and techniques,” Jalous added.

The exhibition runs through December 12 at Cairo Amman Bank art gallery, according to the organisers.