Local artist portrays ‘sound of silence’ in online exhibition

AMMAN — Silence’s capacity to convey a wide range of emotions, often more successfully than words themselves, is one of the ideas explored by the artist Ghadeer Saeed in her latest online show “Violet” that was launched earlier this week.

“While many of us might consider ‘The sound of silence’ to be a somehow contradictory concept, most would agree that quiet can be as powerful and effective as noise,” Ghadeer Saeed said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Born in Libya of Jordanian parents, she has drawn on her personal travels and her studies in architecture to develop an intricate signature style, mixing linear patterns with colourful expressive figures.

Saeed’s creations in “Violet” offer a complex picture made of layers of influences that encompass iconic Oriental figures, global images and old photographs, eventually reflecting the richness she accumulated throughout her personal travelling experience. 

By using old monochromatic book pages as a background for her creations, the artist sought to include an additional layer to her artwork, which, she said, is centred around the idea of “depth” and “multiple interpretations a work can carry”.

“Thematically, Saeed’s work is highly charged emotionally, politically and spiritually,” Dar Al Anda’s Art Gallery managing director, Abdulah Al Ghoul, told The Jordan Times, adding that “her work predominantly explores topics of war, love and chaos with a residing nostalgic feel”.

In this online exhibition, the artist turned to old movies and photos to convey her nostalgic feelings through a message of “silent expression”. 

“These photos express so much. They are incredibly inspirational,” she said, explaining, “I try to solve the mysteries of this silence, to listen to it and imagine what the figures in the photos are thinking about.” 

Using her signature technique of “giclée”, a fine-art printing style, Saeed focused on the facial expressions of the people she portrayed.

“Whether or not they are smiling, each one of these people carries a story,” she stated.

People’s hopes, fears and dreams are timeless, and can be relevant to any socio-political context, according to the artist. 

This is what she tried to convey by using old photographs of figures from another era, which, she said, helped shedding light on the contemporary relevance of her art pieces. 

“Given my background, I cannot isolate myself from the present situation,” she stated, adding, “in my work, I’m asking what these historical figures would do if they were to come to life and how they’d view our society today”.

Inspired by Chilean poet-diplomat Pablo Neruda’s idea that “we come to silence from different languages, through different avenues”, the artist chose the name “Violet” for the exhibition, as an embodiment of the power of silence and balance reflected in her work.

Born from a partnership between Amman-based gallery Dar Al Anda and Beiruti online platform Artscoops, the exhibition will run through October 13.

Launched on Friday, the showcase offers a unique approach to art, according to Al Ghoul, who expressed his enthusiasm of “a first ever venture into the digital-only realm”.