A 10-year-old Kuwaiti boy hailed as the new Picasso? Matthew Lee meets the child prodigy
In most respects, Hamad Al-Humaidhan is an ordinary 10-year-old from Kuwait City. That said, most boys of his age aren’t the toast of the contemporary art scene.
We’re in a large, white marquee in the beautiful Welsh town of Llangollen and Hamad is causing a minor media frenzy. The BBC has just interviewed him for radio and a TV crew are waiting to film him for the evening news. We’ve all travelled to this remote corner of the United Kingdom because, unlike other 10-year-old boys, Hamad is selling his paintings for £1,500 (around KD650). In fact, he’s already sold half his works and the event isn’t even open yet.
Llangollen is the unlikely location of Hamad’s first exhibition. The Kuwaiti ambassador to the UK is making the trip from London especially to see Hamad’s work. After all, it’s not every day a Kuwaiti child is hailed by the press as the art world’s next big thing.
Three years ago, Hamad left Kuwait for Bath in the south-west of England so his mother could begin her PhD studies. “When I left Kuwait I didn’t know what a painting was,” he says, giving his black beret a tug. His father, Waleed, sitting by his side, takes up the story: “I used to paint when we lived in Kuwait, but not that much. I had some free time in Bath so I started to paint again. One day, Hamad was watching me and asked if he could have a canvas.”
“I made a painting of Cristiano Ronaldo,” Hamad interjects, smiling at the memory. His portrait of the footballer pales in comparison with his more recent work, but for a first-time effort it was impressive. His father encouraged him to paint some more. “He just kept painting, one after another, and I started to spot similarities with Pablo Picasso,” says Waleed. “I told him that his work was very similar to Picasso and he asked ‘Who’s Picasso?’”
Looking at the paintings, it’s hard to believe that Hamad is so young – his work is abstract, colourful and vivid with imagery. “His talent is a gift from God,” says Waleed. “With practice he will improve. But it’s also about construction, balance and colour, and Hamad just knows what to do.”
I ask Hamad, known to his schoolmates as ‘The Artist’, where his ideas come from. “I don’t know,” he replies. “I close my eyes and my mind puts it together. Then I start painting. The finished painting is what I see in my head.” Place Hamad’s work next to Picasso’s and the similarities are evident. Yet Waleed claims his son developed his style before seeing a Picasso.
Waleed took his son’s paintings to a Bath gallery and soon word spread of a child prodigy in town. Art agent Steve Turner snapped him up and everything took off – several UK newspapers including The Sun and Daily Mail have tagged Hamad “the new Picasso”. Stories about Hamad have even reached newspapers in China, Waleed informs me.
With fame beckoning, I wonder if it’s all too much for a kid to handle. But Hamad is taking it in his stride, and his father seems proud and protective rather than pushy. ‘The Artist’ isn’t letting success go to his head. “I was expecting a precocious brat, to be honest,” another artist exhibiting in Llangollen tells me, “but he’s a lovely lad.” It’s true: Hamad and his father charm everybody they meet.
Only a small portion of Hamad’s work is on sale today. His father is keeping most of it in the family. “I want him to keep some for himself so he can remember his life when he’s a big artist,” Waleed says.
In two years’ time, the family will return to Kuwait City. The world’s greatest artist living in your neighbourhood? Don’t bet against it.
Lebanese clothes designer Lara Khoury talks to Dalila Mahdawi
A graduate of fashion school in Paris, Lara Khoury worked with Lebanese designer Elie Saab before launching the clothes line Ilk. She recently opened her own atelier in Beirut and now produces haute couture for her eponymous label Lara Khoury.
01/ How would you describe your new label?
The style is experimental, extravagant and borderline minimalist. My clients are mostly artists who think the more experimental, the better.
02/ Your next collection is about global warming?
Well, the impact of global warming extends to every facet of our lives, including fashion: the industry will change because our daily needs will mutate. My Autumn collection retains the wintery façade of knitting, but it’s a façade. The fibres that once protected against the cold are replaced by a mix of light, summery fabrics.
03/ What else is planned? I’m currently working on a new jewellery line called "LKjewelrybyRaniaOdaymat". Rania is a talented Lebanese jewellery designer based in Ghana. She’s collected and reworked old jewellery from around the world.
04/ How would you describe the Lebanese fashion scene? Lebanese fashion is reaching a higher level every season, with new upcoming designers injecting their fresh styles and ideas. Haute couture is giving a second chance to a country still suffering from the consequences of war. www.lara-khoury.com
Damascus’s first female bodyguards are doing more than just keeping people safe – they’re challenging stereotypes of Arab women
Words_Yazan Atassi Photography_Hazem Al Hindi
Before leaving for work, Safa Antabli gets her son ready for school, has a coffee with her husband and hurriedly does some housework. She doesn’t have time to fuss over her hair or make-up, and it doesn’t matter. In her job she needs to look tough – for Safa is a security guard in a shopping mall.
A trip to Bower Services, the oldest security-training firm in the city, confirms that gender is no barrier to becoming a lean, mean guarding machine. Jihad Faris, an instructor specialising in the peaceful settlement of potentially volatile situations, says his company doesn’t discriminate between men and women. In fact, women are likely to make better guards, he says, because they are “more able to handle situations calmly and smoothly, and negotiate without getting provoked or provoking others.” The aspiring guards receive both physical and theoretical training. Women and men have to pass the same course, which includes martial arts and self-defence. But the key to being a good security guard, explains Safa, is being able to defuse a situation.
“I’ve only used force once in three years,” she says. “I often succeed in containing situations through dialogue, especially with men.” Men, she adds, nearly always refrain from using offensive words or physical force against women. “Perhaps this is due to our culture in which men who use physical or verbal violence against women are stigmatised,” she explains.
In a conservative city like Damascus, opinion is divided on female security guards. “Women are as strong as men,” says Hassan, a designer. “They can volunteer to serve in the army or the police force so why shouldn’t they work as security guards?”
But few men share his view. “Women should stick to certain jobs,” asserts Tawtiq, an accountant. “What if the woman is attacked by a stronger man?”
Zeina Issa, a 25-year-old colleague of Safa, says that her decision to become a security guard surprised her parents. “They did not know that women could choose this career,” she says. “They thought I was joking at first.” Safa’s husband Ayman welcomed her decision to become a guard.
Some guards work in ladies’ rooms in nightlife venues. They are plain-clothed and tasked with protecting female customers from harassment. “There’s no time for negotiation in my job,” says M, a guard who is unable to give her real name. “I have to intervene immediately to prevent men from harassing women. But this has only happened twice in two years. It can be dangerous, but I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”
Safa says she’s never wanted a mundane office job. Other women say that the job gives them self-confidence and makes them feel strong and independent.
Although Safa, Zeina and M enjoy their work, female security guards are still a novelty in Syria. The demand is there, but not many women are signing up. But things are changing and Syrians are realising that a female security guard isn’t to be messed with.
Alex Ritman speaks to Rami Farook, the Emirati who’s putting UAE design on the world stage Photography_Charney Magri
In Milan in April, a Bedouin-inspired sofa turned more than just a few heads at one of the world’s biggest design fairs. Constructed from layers of colourful mattresses – like the Arabic seating made from rugs stacked atop one another – and held together with ropes, the new cushioned creation blended contemporary styles within a traditional design. Even more curiously, it has been designed and produced entirely in the UAE.
Local is the new furniture brand from Dubai’s very own design studio and gallery, Traffic, and the brainchild of 29-year-old Emirati Rami Farook. Launching at the annual Zona Tortona fair in Milan, Local was hailed as a great success. “We went, we launched, we conquered,” says Dubai-based Farook, who has a degree in business from Boston University. “I think we did a great job. Everyone at the fair was just amazed when we said where we were from.” Alongside the Bedouin sofa, Local’s current collection also includes a matching Arabic-infused wooden coffee table, a bookshelf futuristically incorporating neon and glass, plus a series of cubed lights featuring LED strips. There’s also the “Dubai Syndrome”, an imposing chair manufactured from cement – which was the winner in Traffic’s inaugural design competition in 2009 – plus a basic lamp inspired by construction lighting, designed by Farook himself. The most eye-catching product is a basic wooden chair that uses a square of grass as the cushion.
“We had to spray it with water each day in Milan,” admits Farook, who claims he conducted several meetings on the “Mow” chairs without anyone walking away with stains on their clothing.
The launch of the Local range of products is just the next step in an eventful few years for Farook. Having established Traffic in 2007 as a purely retail space selling some unfeasibly cool household products, he soon began furnishing various new offices and towers across Dubai – including the lobby of the Burj Khalifa – before being asked to design cultural hubs, such as the UAE Pavilion at the Venice Bienniale in 2009.
By this stage, the Traffic team had grown and the company had added its own studio which, through artist residency programmes, had started to make its own products. Soon, these began to seep into their commerical interior furnishing plans. “Eventually, we realised we had enough to make our own label,” says Rami.
Despite a recent fall in retail sales, Farook is confident. “We’re very new, so I didn’t expect to get any sales in Milan, but we picked up several orders. Anything that wasn’t a prototype was sold.” Farook adds that for a project in Abu Dhabi, he used two of the products from Local’s nine-stong range, and this brought in over US$80,000. “So there’s defintiely potential.”
Local may have just launched, but its collection will soon expand. “We’ve got five new products in the pipeline, including a bit of clothing, some stationery and a bag,” says Farook. He wants to open an online store, showcasing the work of local designers and established brands.
Through Traffic and now Local, Farook – despite his youth – has emerged as one of the leading lights in the region’s blossoming design scene, setting an international standard for young creatives to work towards. “I really hope to see myself as a facilitator for some of the designers here, so that they come to us and want to work.” And it’s this attitude that helped Farook pick up the International Young Design Entrepreneur 2009 award from the British Council, the first time a UAE national had been nominated.
Although the UAE element may have led to much of the excitement in Milan in April, it’s not something Farook wants to focus on. “Sure, I’m proudly saying Local is from the UAE, but I’m not trying to sell it as a brand just for the sake of saying it’s from the UAE. I’d rather people fell in love with Local and then find out.”
The Bahraini racing driver talks to J Magazine about his drive to succeed
With Bahrain opening and Abu Dhabi closing the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix season, the Gulf is now the focal point of the sport. We spoke to 21-year-old Bahraini Raed Raffii, the region’s best chance of a future F1 star.
01/ What does a driver need to succeed in motor racing?
The right guidance and enough funding. In Europe, drivers are often helped by governments or by one of the teams based there. We are still educating people here about the sport.
02/ How much of a driver’s success is down to the car?
A lot, but the driver’s influence on the development of the car is huge. A driver has to understand his car completely. It’s not good enough to know that the car is inhibiting your speed, you need to know why. He needs to be driver, engineer and mechanic.
03/ Where are all the Arab drivers?
In 2004, we had nobody. Now, every day, we see more drivers competing. To give you an example, two months ago I was at a race weekend in Saudi Arabia, and for the first time we had about 40 Arab drivers and no Europeans.
04/ How long before we see an Arab in F1?
I think we won’t see one until the next generation. That said, Abu Dhabi is putting a huge amount of money into the sport, and it is one of the best places in terms of funding right now. But I fear they will import drivers with other backgrounds to fly their flag.
05/ Who will win the 2010 Formula 1 drivers’ title?
I think McLaren and Ferrari will dominate although Red Bull and Mercedes will both be in with a chance. I hope Lewis Hamilton wins the title.
At the Riyadh opening of the Edge of Arabia world tour, Matthew Lee meets the people putting Saudi art on the map Photography_Tim White
The view from the 52nd floor of the Kingdom Tower is spectacular. From this lofty vantage point, Riyadh seems impossibly large, sprawling into the desert as far as the eye can see. But nobody’s looking out the windows of the Hewar Art Gallery. Instead, a series of colourful murals painted by Saudi schoolchildren steal the limelight. The kids buzz round the paintings, showing off their creations to surprised and delighted parents.
These parents were not the only people that day to be surprised and delighted by Saudi art. Downstairs, in the convention centre, The Global Competitiveness Forum, one of the Middle East’s largest conferences, was going on. Guest speakers such as Tony Blair and Michael Dell gave lectures in the main hall. Next door, past tables heaving with croissants and chocolate-chip cookies, a groundbreaking event was taking place.
The first major exhibition of contemporary Saudi art, Edge of Arabia was unveiled in London in 2008 and turned heads at the Venice Biennale last summer. Over the next few years, it will travel round the world, alerting keen eyes to the Kingdom’s vast creative potential. Dubai, Berlin and Istanbul are on the itinerary for 2010, but for now, Edge of Arabia is debuting on home soil – a chance for Saudis to see the work of their own artists.
The project is the brainchild of Stephen Stapleton, a British artist who first visited Saudi Arabia in 2003. Excited by his discoveries, Stapleton spent the next five years travelling around the country, meeting artists and formulating plans for a landmark collective show. “I found pockets of activity, mainly artists working in isolation without any galleries or cultural support,” recalls Stapleton, who has used his experience to help develop and promote an art scene still in its infancy.
Apart from their nationality, the 17 Saudi artists involved have little in common. They include painters, sculptors, photographers and video artists, and they explore different themes.
In London and Venice, Manal Al-Dowanyan’s photos of women from the Eastern Province sparked a debate about the role of females in a conservative society. They also shattered the myth that you can’t depict the human form in Saudi art.
“People were saying to me: ‘Is there really such a thing as Saudi art?’ and they were really surprised,” Al-Dowanyan says. “Culture is a wonderful tool to help communication between different people. Saudi Arabia has now become part of a global conversation.”
In Jeddah, art plays a major role in public life. Between 1972 and 1986, its mayor Mohamed Said Farsi realised his dream of turning the city into an open-air art museum. The city boasts sculptures by Henry Moore, Joan Miró, Victor Vasarely and César Baldaccin. If you live in Jeddah, you are surrounded by art.
At the ATHR Gallery, a Jeddah space dedicated to Saudi art, Legends of the Arab World featured a local take on pop art, with funky portraits of Fairuz, Omar Sharif and Umm Kulthoum on the walls. The gallery’s founder, Hamza Serafi, says the market for Saudi art is growing. “The world is becoming interested,” he explains. “Collectors are looking here and finding that we do have good artists. International collectors buy Saudi art, as do corporations which understand the value of art.”
“I think it’s inevitable that things will take off here,” says Stapleton. “Although right now few Saudis are buying Saudi art. It’s being bought by Westerners.” Despite this, Edge of Arabia has had support from several Saudi individuals and organisations. Stapleton singles out the unwavering support of Fady Jameel of Abdul Latif Jameel and says that SAGIA and the Ministry of Culture have played a key role in staging this launch in Riyadh.
“It’s not easy being a Saudi artist,” says Stapleton. “There’s little structure, very few galleries and it’s not easy to make a living. These artists are the pioneers. They’re asking questions and adding a critical element to their voice and it’s in tune with what’s happening in Saudi society. Things here are changing.”
Stapleton and his pioneers are putting Saudi art on the world stage. Maybe some of the young muralists on the top floor of the Kingdom Tower will follow in their footsteps. Their impulsive, intuitive work points at an exciting future for Saudi art.
For three years now. I am originally from Lahore in Pakistan. Jeddah is a good place to be if you are willing to work hard.
02/What were you doing before you became a taxi driver?
I ran a real estate business in Pakistan. Unfortunately, we lost the business and I lost a lot of money. Things are difficult there and I hope they will get better.
03/Would you like to move back home?
Not yet. I would like to stay in Jeddah but change my job.
04/What would be your ideal job?
I am currently studying commerce and doing computer courses, too. I am very interested in a job as an airline dispatcher.
05/Do you enjoy your work as a driver?
Usually, but it depends on the customers. The older customers are usually very pleasant, but the younger ones are more of a handful.
What’s your favourite…
building in the city and why? Dubai
Chris Lord
It’s not finished yet, but the 0-14 Tower in Business Bay blows my mind. The Swiss cheese exterior is amazing.
Miranda Engstrom
I love the old watch tower by the Creek in Shindagha. It’s nice to see traditional architecture that speaks of another era.
Roy McFarlane
The Index Tower designed by Norman Foster seems ugly at first view. But when you spend a little time exploring it, you see how extraordinary and unique it is.
Before leaving for work, Safa Antabli gets her son ready for school, has a coffee with her husband and hurriedly does some housework. She doesn’t have time to fuss over her hair or make-up, and it doesn’t matter. In her job she needs to look tough – for Safa is a security guard in a shopping mall.
In a conservative city like Damascus, opinion is divided on female security guards. “Women are as strong as men,” says Hassan, a designer. “They can volunteer to serve in the army or the police force so why shouldn’t they work as security guards?”
Safa says she’s never wanted a mundane office job. Other women say that the job gives them self-confidence and makes them feel strong and independent.
In Milan in April, a Bedouin-inspired sofa turned more than just a few heads at one of the world’s biggest design fairs. Constructed from layers of colourful mattresses – like the Arabic seating made from rugs stacked atop one another – and held together with ropes, the new cushioned creation blended contemporary styles within a traditional design. Even more curiously, it has been designed and produced entirely in the UAE.
Despite a recent fall in retail sales, Farook is confident. “We’re very new, so I didn’t expect to get any sales in Milan, but we picked up several orders. Anything that wasn’t a prototype was sold.” Farook adds that for a project in Abu Dhabi, he used two of the products from Local’s nine-stong range, and this brought in over US$80,000. “So there’s defintiely potential.”
Raed Raffii
At the Riyadh opening of the Edge of Arabia world tour, Matthew Lee meets the people putting Saudi art on the map Photography_Tim White
These parents were not the only people that day to be surprised and delighted by Saudi art. Downstairs, in the convention centre, The Global Competitiveness Forum, one of the Middle East’s largest conferences, was going on. Guest speakers such as Tony Blair and Michael Dell gave lectures in the main hall. Next door, past tables heaving with croissants and chocolate-chip cookies, a groundbreaking event was taking place.
The project is the brainchild of Stephen Stapleton, a British artist who first visited Saudi Arabia in 2003. Excited by his discoveries, Stapleton spent the next five years travelling around the country, meeting artists and formulating plans for a landmark collective show. “I found pockets of activity, mainly artists working in isolation without any galleries or cultural support,” recalls Stapleton, who has used his experience to help develop and promote an art scene still in its infancy.
Apart from their nationality, the 17 Saudi artists involved have little in common. They include painters, sculptors, photographers and video artists, and they explore different themes.
In Jeddah, art plays a major role in public life. Between 1972 and 1986, its mayor Mohamed Said Farsi realised his dream of turning the city into an open-air art museum. The city boasts sculptures by Henry Moore, Joan Miró, Victor Vasarely and César Baldaccin. If you live in Jeddah, you are surrounded by art.
At the ATHR Gallery, a Jeddah space dedicated to Saudi art, Legends of the Arab World featured a local take on pop art, with funky portraits of Fairuz, Omar Sharif and Umm Kulthoum on the walls. The gallery’s founder, Hamza Serafi, says the market for Saudi art is growing. “The world is becoming interested,” he explains. “Collectors are looking here and finding that we do have good artists. International collectors buy Saudi art, as do corporations which understand the value of art.”
“I think it’s inevitable that things will take off here,” says Stapleton. “Although right now few Saudis are buying Saudi art. It’s being bought by Westerners.” Despite this, Edge of Arabia has had support from several Saudi individuals and organisations. Stapleton singles out the unwavering support of Fady Jameel of Abdul Latif Jameel and says that SAGIA and the Ministry of Culture have played a key role in staging this launch in Riyadh.
“It’s not easy being a Saudi artist,” says Stapleton. “There’s little structure, very few galleries and it’s not easy to make a living. These artists are the pioneers. They’re asking questions and adding a critical element to their voice and it’s in tune with what’s happening in Saudi society. Things here are changing.”
Abdul Salam
Chris Lord 
Miranda Engstrom 
Roy McFarlane