Jordanian artist paints ‘beauty of simplicity’

AMMAN — “I look for people behind the scenes, the outcast, people who are naturally beautiful, innocence, simplicity, the soul,” Jordanian artist Mahan Abu Samaan said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times.

Since she was a child, Abu Samaan has been used to utilising all elements at hand to express herself, as a way of “freeing her thoughts” and documenting them on canvas.

Her skill was later acknowledged by her parents, which made her register in art centres to improve her skills and talent. This is where she got to practise art in different forms taught by Sudanese, Iraqi and Jordanian artists.

As a young student, Abu Samaan majored in computer science at the University of Jordan, but then realised her passion was art, which made her take a completely different path.

Having something in its modern form sometimes limits the beauty of it, she said, referring to technological advances in the modern world.

The female figure is always present in her artworks, with no defined features, but a defined message.

“I always like to include women’s portraits, due to the important role women play in society,” she noted.

Abu Samaan also combines her art pieces with the beauty of nature’s elements,  like horses. For her, “horses have some kind of a mesmerising beauty, they catch your attention in a strangely beautiful way”.

“I don’t like clear paintings with a limited message,” she explained, adding, “my paintings are known to portray the mysterious side that no one can see except those who want to get close to them. It also applies to human representations”.

For Abu Samaan, painting, whether oil on canvas or using coal, depends more on the sensation than on planning the elements of the art piece.

“If you think too much about the figure you are about to paint, it becomes a one-sided, solid shape,” she said, noting: “To me, music is a very good ingredient to paint a scene present in my mind.”

Although she encountered some obstacles and was sometimes held back by some members of the society, she noted that one should always follow their passion and become the master of their own destiny.

“It’s just you and your inner self: your safe space. Every person has their own space where they can express themsleves without constraints. It’s your conversation with yourself,” the artist concluded.