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When a person has an artistic soul, he sees the things around him with eyes different from the eyes of people. Creativity finds a way for him to shape and form many artistic creations that transport you to meanings and ideas charged with humanity, honesty, and deep feelings, so you find yourself communicating with them smoothly and spontaneously without even prior artistic study. Just by looking at it.
This is the feeling you will have when watching the creations of the Saudi artist Jassim Al-Damen, the abstract artist who was inspired by the vocabulary of his childhood in the city of Qatif, many of the vocabulary of his current paintings and creations, thus creating a connection between them and art connoisseurs without any effort, due to the depth of their originality and human honesty.
Let's get to know him through a special interview with Gheir that will bring you closer to his thought and introduce you to the spirit of an authentic and true artist.
We would like to first learn about your upbringing and academic specialization.
I grew up in the city of Qatif in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where I live and practice art. My academic specialty is not technical. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical power technology engineering from Jubail Industrial College in Jubail Industrial City, located in the east of the Kingdom.
When did you discover your artistic talent?
Art was one of my first interests in life, since elementary school; It grew in me at that time until my eyes began to practice the language of sight at an influential level and could be shaped into visual dimensions that touched my scattered feelings and thoughts and satisfied my aesthetic and intellectual desires in a studio that was not devoid of chaos.
Why was drawing your way of expressing yourself? Does it put you in a certain emotional state and then you choose it?
Although my studies are not art, I have always viewed drawing as "the strange and friendly world at the same time." It has given me the comfort that dispels loneliness in times of loneliness and isolation, and has become synonymous with times of happiness and love, and this is what I feel when I draw, and that is why most of my works clearly reflect these two influences.
In your opinion, how do people feel when they see your paintings? Or how do you hope they feel when they watch it?
I hope that they feel happiness, love, and pain together through the color effects that resist the reduced human suffering, physically, emotionally, and emotionally, to restore hope to their place.
What moves you to create a new work of art? Do you need a certain psychological state to be able to create?
I am motivated by more visual and intellectual energy given to me by the environment around me, from the house to the street, with all their human and social details and their visual and aesthetic dimensions. Although my paintings are in fact influenced by sad stories, I shape them visually in an ecstatic state of joy! Laughing in the face of sadness and triumphing over it, this is what gives me more satisfaction after completing each painting.
Do you follow a specific art school? Which international artist's style influences you or have you been influenced by his work?
I do not see myself as belonging to a specific art school; But I was undoubtedly influenced by different artists whose works shaped my visual memory and gave me the opportunity to be inspired and motivated towards creativity and form my own artistic identity, including Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon, and Gerard Stryger.
How do you see the expression of your creativity and drawings about Saudi culture?
I see Saudi culture as much more than just heritage; I draw from Saudi culture particularly influential social topics that have an impact that can be reduced to an inspiring visual template.
Are you trying to spread a specific artistic message through your paintings?
You can summarize my work in one main message: “Reject hate and embrace love in all our actions”; This is my basic message that I hope to spread.
The issue of empowering women and enhancing their presence in society is one of the most important and prominent societal issues now, locally and globally. How do your creativity support this issue?
I have always been a feminist and a supporter of women; I am very happy with what I have achieved so far in my country, but I see that many male and female artists in the Kingdom address this issue in their works, so I want to present something different in my paintings, even if I continue to advocate and support women personally.
It cannot be denied that Arab culture is facing a crisis of identity and a crisis of destiny in our current time. Do you tend to defend their true values through your art, and how?
I see that the Arabic identity of my work was formed after the word “love” was added to it and repeated until it became an icon in which I distinguish my soul within the artistic work. My expression of this word, which I see as synonymous with Arab identity in my view, is the way through my paintings that I can defend the true values of Arab identity.
As a Saudi and Arab artist, what elements of your local culture and environment inspire you the most?
The sea, the birds, the old alleys, the popular markets and the elderly; I lived my childhood in our house by the sea, and it was the visual vocabulary around me everywhere, and growing up among it had a great impact on my work until today.
Just like his paintings and artistic creations, you feel that the speech of the Saudi artist Jassim Al-Damen is charged with humanity in an authentic, honest and real way. You communicate with it without barriers and spontaneously, and we found in our meeting with him a lot of inspiration.
