The hottest art show in town

IT was labelled the hottest art show in town. The works of 10 artists were put on display and all were made entirely with the use of spices.

The special event was staged to mark the launch of new Arabic restaurant, Baharat at the Kempinski Grand & Ixir Hotel Bahrain City Centre.

Baharat, which means spices, proved to be a feast for the eyes, nose as well as the palate with the Spice Art Exhibition.

Members of the media, dignitaries and VIP corporate clients had the opportunity to bid for the artwork whilst indulging in an elaborate buffet with Arabic music entertainment and a performance from a belly dancer.

The proceeds from the sale of the paintings were split between the artists and the Al Noor Welfare Charity organisation.

Nada Al Aradi, 24, was one of the artists invited to take part in the exhibition. Her paintings truly spiced up the auction with a pricing feud between two keen bidders with starting bids of BD80.

Using nijella seeds and kashmiri chili powder Nada created a woman’s face entitled Rosa Lips which eventually sold for BD120 and another, Spice Haze, using two types of chilli powder, turmeric powder, nigella seeds and paprika, raised BD160.

Nada, from Saar, said: “Spice flavours are used to describe human traits … sweet, spicy, bitter … it’s almost as if you could taste a person’s personality!

“I wanted to combine these descriptive traits with actual human expression and bring them together as one. My two art pieces are two very different portraits of a woman, one with her eyes closed in a day dream state, and another with a devious look, so I used different spices for each portrait.

“I chose women because I feel that they show emotions in their faces clearer. They have a stronger connection to spices, plus they’re prettier to look at!

“When you look at spices they’re usually dull and boring. I wanted to use ones that had a little bit more life and could tell a story whilst adding another dimension to the facial emotion.

“I was pleasantly surprised that there was a good response from the audience to the extent that one young man whistled at the auctioneer to get his attention to bid on the piece as soon as they brought it out. I’m just glad that the entire auction was a success and some of the proceeds are going to a good cause.”

Nada produced three paintings, two were exhibited for auction and one, entitled the Tree of Life is currently on display at the restaurant and is selling for a fixed price of BD80.

Nada worked in a design firm before becoming an art teacher in Naseem School. She left her teaching days behind to focus on becoming a full-time artist in 2011. She is currently collaborating with different art spaces and hopes to get involved in more charity work in the future.

Marion Labani, an art consultant and managing director at the Art Lounge, produced a piece of work entitled Spice Girl. Her painting unfortunately didn’t sell, as she believes that the starting bid price was too high at BD290, yet doesn’t regret a minute of the three days she spent making the piece.

German-born Marion, from Saar, said: “When I was asked to participate in the Spice Art Exhibition, I was very flattered. When I was told that we had to use spices to make the art, subconsciously I had the idea of a woman dressed in spices ... so I did it.

“It is what I feel is an expression of beauty. When I think about spices, I think girls are spices, they keep life spicy … it was the perfect decision.

“I thought it would be cool to use eatable vegetables to mix in with the spices. So I used beetroot to create the background and added some round chilli in specific parts. Everything was in my mind before I started creating Spice Girl and I just put it on the canvas.

“I used a lot of spices in my painting. I used black pepper, black lemon powder, chilli powder, crushed and round chillies, mustard seeds, paprika and star aniseed.”

Marion started drawing at a very young age, but when she moved to Bahrain nine years ago she started to take her art more seriously. Three years ago she established Art Lounge and believes she has finally found her passion and identity.

She is currently working on a concept focusing on women to hopefully produce a collection to exhibit later this year.

Taking from the name of the restaurant, the youngest exhibitor in the exhibition, 23-year-old Yasser Al Hassan, produced a piece in Arabic calligraphy writing out the word ‘bohaaroha’, which translates to aroma.

Yasser, from Riffa, said: “My work comes from the word Baharat, the name of the restaurant.

“I used a mix of spices that I thought were important to showcase the culture of Bahrain. I used cinnamon, turmeric, chilli powder, chilli peppers and the most significant, Bahraini baharat.

“It was an honour to take part in the exhibition. I am also extremely happy to know that half of the proceeds from the BD60 that my painting sold for will be donated to the Al Noor Welfare Society. I hope I can continue to work with the charity in the future.”

Kempinski Grand & Ixir Hotel Bahrain City Centre general manager, Puneet Singh, said he was ‘delighted’ to have the opportunity to celebrate the opening of the restaurant with an innovative art exhibition, raising funds for a good cause at the same time. “I am glad that all of our guests enjoyed everything that this beautiful restaurant has to offer, in a night of great food, art and celebration,” he added.

The paintings that were not sold at the auction, including Nada’s Tree of Life and Marion’s Spice Girl, are currently on display at the restaurant and will be exhibited until snapped up.

*The Al Noor Charity Welfare association provides financial and material assistance to needy families, construction and renovation of old houses, teaching the Holy Quran, the development of social service in Bahrain, co-ordinates the efforts of women to contribute to the economic and cultural transformations of the service development process, work on strengthening ties with Arab and international organisations and provide a link between the needy citizens and people with physical ability.