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VISITING a shanty town in North Africa helped inspire artist Faisal Samra’s latest collection of work which highlights the contrast between the rich and the poor.
The Bahraini-born Saudi artist recently showcased his latest video installation project as well as a sample of his manipulated photography, entitled Shanty, at Albareh Art Gallery in Adliya.
The contemporary artist took on the universal issue of urban isolation of the underprivileged classes and gave a unique perspective through a life-sized video and a series of photographs, distorted with collages of brand names.
Faisal, 56, and a father-of-two, from Juffair, said: “This is an ongoing project reflecting the issue of poverty in the slums. That’s why the name of the project is Shanty; I went into the shantytowns of Morocco and portrayed what the people are living through.”
In the video recording, edited with visual effects, Faisal explored the idea of isolation by placing a still camera in an alley of Casablanca.
The five different characters that are shown, collectively cry out for help, raising awareness of the conditions they are living in. The sequence is silent and reflects the hope of people without a voice.
“I tried to show how there are two worlds living in juxtaposition. In the recording you can see modern houses right next to the shanties, and although they meet each other, there is silence between them, which is illustrated by the characters in the video being trapped in a glass box,” Faisal explained.
“We need to break this isolation and expose the conditions in which these people are living. At the end the glass is shattered, breaking the silence.”
Faisal is a graduate of Fine Art from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. He began his career as a stage designer for the Saudi TV network before founding his own design company in Saudi Arabia.
In 1987, he moved back to Paris and worked as a Fine Arts and Graphics consultant. He later went on to teach drawing and painting at the College of Fine Arts in Amman, Jordan, working as an independent artist since 1993 in various locations including Bahrain before eventually opening his own Faisal Samra Studio in Juffair.
Faisal has exhibited his work all over the Middle East, the US and in Europe and has received recognition worldwide. He was asked to participate in the 50th Anniversary UN Exhibition entitled Dialogues of Peace.Faisal later obtained his first artist residency in Paris in 2005.
Using his cultural background to tackle the ongoing issues of everyday life, Faisal explained how poverty is something you see all over the world and it has disturbing results.
“People in these shanties have no water and no electricity. They have nothing to lose, and that’s why many get involved in crime, terrorism and prostitution,” he said. “As an artist I need to address problems that are occurring and poverty is a main one. This doesn’t only happen in the Middle East; it is an international problem and should be treated that way.”
Throughout his video presentation, Faisal showcased his latest collage manipulation pieces. With the use of brand names collaged over dull digital photographs, a contrast between the ramshackle appearance and the superimposed symbols of a consumer-led society is made.
He targets multi-national companies in his campaigning work. “The idea is to use big brand names which I call the invisible forces of the world,” he added. “These brands are manipulating all the problems around us and if they just put their forces together and give 0.01 per cent of their income yearly to these slums, in a few years the boundaries could be broken.”
Faisal hopes to address more social issues through his work in the future.
