AYMAN BAALBAKI

Our collaboration took various forms. Sometimes, it took on a practical aspect, where Abdul Rahman would assist me with a specific issue, especially since he had more technical expertise with materials. For example, he would help me with woodworking or iron welding.

Although Abdul Rahman had distanced himself from painting during his time at university, through his relationship with me and the painter Serwan Baran, his love for it grew. Later, the three of us decided to travel together to Greece. We took up residence in the city of Patras, with the aim of spending the summer and working at the same time. We felt the need to get away from Beirut for a while at that time, which further strengthened our relationship. We also had an excellent experience in terms of collaboration for work.

Another time, Abdul Rahman, Serwan, my brother Said and I travelled together to Venice to help set up one of my artworks. Then, the four of us went on to help Said with setting up his exhibition in Berlin. Now, more recently the four of us are having a group exhibition, which we spent two weeks together preparing for in Geneva, Switzerland, at the residence of Barbara Polla.

In terms of Abdul Rahman’s work, I can talk about the strength of his personality, his courage, and his love for life. It is not easy for an artist to emerge from the refugee camp environment in which he lived. Effectively, he came from nothing, and the difference between him and us, meaning myself, my brother Said, and Serwan, is that Serwan, for example, received academic training in Baghdad, and my brother and I are fortunate to hail from an artistic family. Abdul Rahman, however, built himself up from zero, and engaged in socially and politically motivated art that took a critical stance against corruption, parties, and instigators in the camps. His first works were graffiti that showed him to be a fearless activist more than a painter. Then he moved onto the art of caricature, which allowed him to enter university.

Indeed, it is remarkable to observe the rapid development of an individual who initially had no knowledge of art history. In a short period, he transitioned from political and social activism to academic artistic pursuits, seamlessly blending all these aspects together through his experiences and visual intelligence. His journey demonstrates his adaptability and ability to incorporate various influences into his work.

His artworks are characterised by a lightness that can be described as both elusive and concise. I vividly recall how he would mix materials and colours, constantly contemplating the essence of these elements to distill them later. He initially started with depicting individuals and the world of the camp, only for these figures to later transform into abbreviated shadows of people. This reminds me of the anecdote of a Palestinian objecting to a journalist wanting to photograph him, saying, "Do you think you will see anything in us? We are merely empty shadows."

Abdul Rahman’s ability to capture the essence and convey it in such concise forms is truly captivating. His work reflects the experiences and struggles of individuals, often encapsulating powerful messages in minimalist yet impactful compositions. This development in the aesthetics of his work has transformed him from being simply a Palestinian artist on a small scale to an influential artist in the Lebanese art scene. He initially exhibited at the Lebanese Artists Association and won awards at the Sursock Exhibition. He then studied at the Lebanese University and gained a large audience in the Arab world, as well as participating in exhibitions in Geneva and Paris. I am impressed by his maturity and the evolution of his work towards conciseness.

The conscious spirit of collaboration that exists between the two of us, the similar places from which each of us comes, and our shared struggle in our environments and our empathy for people, is something that is rare today. We take pride in it and fight for it. Nowadays, the world is mostly heading towards the notion of the artist as an individual entity in their studio, as if they were a registered brand or a machine designed to produce numerous works at a required level. However, we differ from that through our spirit of humility that allows us to collaborate with each other and produce works in which two or more artists participate.