In collaboration with Maldives High Commission, UK, National Centre for the Arts and the National Art Gallery- Male’, a presentation reviewing and summarizing the works done in an exhibition organized by the Royal Commonwealth Society in affliation with the Maldivian High Commission, UK, was held at the National Library’s American Corner, on the 28^th of January 2010. The exhibition by the name, “Maldives – A Peace of Darkness’ presented works of three Maldivian artists; Moosa Mamdhooh, Samah Ahmed and Naushad Waheed.

In the presentation, the High Commissioner, Dr. Farah Faizal expressed her views on the ‘Maldives – A Peace of Darkness’ and the impressive works done by Naushad Waheed, Samah Ahmed. Furthermore, she offered to assist Maldivian artists in promoting Maldivian Art. Moosa Mamdhooh revealed some of his own insight on his work.

The concept of artistes’ workshops is not new, however multidisciplinary congregation is unique wherein artistes from varied disciplines work togeather under one roof. Artistes - be they painters, dancers or musicians have their own unique styles of working, most often their own set inspirations, different backgrounds and schools of thought, but when they are put together for a workshop and share creative energies with other «thinking» minds - a new synergy is born and it was this rare synergy that was celebrated at the week long SAARC artist camp organized by SEHER for ICCR.

The camp was held at one of the most picturesque locations in the subcontinent - Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer as a city is known for its color, its history, and interestingly is situated close to the Indo-Pakistan border with many similiarities emerging in music, culture and lifestyle. The idea came about when, along with ICCR we were told to create an event to celebrate the spirit of SAARC for the upcoming summit through culture - we converge on the concept of getting painters from all the SAARC countries to work at Jaisalmer.
As we are all aware, visual art is growing at a phenomenal pace in the sub-continent with artistes showcasing their works all over the world. Inviting artistes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka was not that difficult as there is substantial interaction between these nations, but we are hardly aware of the plethora of talent that exists in Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan. We attempted to give thse artistes a holistic experience through interactive sessions with art specialists like Roobina Karode and Abhay Sardesai as well as lecture demonstrations on Indian classical music, dance, poetry and literature. The participants interacted at a personal, cultural and professional level - learning from each other’s skills, adopting newer techniques, sharing fresher ideas that made it a worhtwhile experience for the entire group.

I thank the ICCR for having supported this concept all through and the help that my team at SEHER recieved at every step of its implementation. I am also delighted that this exhibition will be showcased in the SAARC capitals after the Summit. It will give the people of these countries a chance to see how creativity and harmony are linked so closely and how experiences like this artistes’ camp can increase people - to - people contact between neighbours.

Sanjeeve Bhargava
Founder Director, Seher

Link: http://www.kopenhagen.dk/interviews/interviews/interviews_2008/interview_soeren_dahlgaard/

In 2010 Søren Dahlgaard will make new Dough portraits in Los Angeles and exhibit them at Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica.

More venues in different locations around the world will be added to the list and a publication is planned to sum up the project.

This event was made possible with the generous support from Kaimoo Travels & Hotel Services Pvt. Ltd

Operator of Embudu Village, Summer Island Village, Equator Village, Kam Hotel, Mookai Hotel & Mookai Suites

&

Sri Lankan Airways

His paintings exhibited at the National Art Gallery are placed in threes, as best as they can be placed in a hall that is limited with space. They show green, white, and blue landscapes, often with exaggerated surroundings, depicting Eagan’s unique painting style inspired by Impressionist works which broke down conventional methods of painting. Some are semi realistic with intricate details as in Miskithu Valhu. Others more exaggerated with fiery blue skies in Bah’theli and wild contours of white sand in an otherwise peaceful setting in Funghi Viyun. The sudden changes in landscape using bolder brushstrokes, according to Eagan, come from the light and mood of his space at the time of painting.

There is a sense of freedom in the way the women in his paintings walk through the shady pathways, collecting water from the wells, sweeping the leaves with an iloshifathi, pausing to pick a fruit from a tree, all the while wearing mostly short sleeved dresses of different bright colours. It is hard to ignore the sense of longing felt for a time when most of us would run around like the children in the paintings, in between the houses with no walls, following the elders to the water well, collecting dried coconuts, following the resident rooster around. The paintings show the lives of people who were more in touch with their natural surroundings.

The purpose of this work by Eagan is to document a life lived not so long ago. A life lived according to the values and standards accepted by the community. The different dress colours are meant to represent different individuals who learned to co-exist within a community. Bodu beru used to be a festival of exchanges through music, which involved the whole community, men and women, young and aged, where expressions of humour is enjoyed, where love is proposed through songs and accepted by a dance.

The emotions felt through the paintings are still in memories of the living. The actual settings of the paintings are still visible in very few islands. But not without minor connotations of a globalised culture here and there. That was the ideal life as some of us would like to remember it. Or was this life ideal only because it is visualised through our selective memory?

A discussion with Eagan led to a series of questions. What will a foreigner visiting the islands make of these pictures if they have seen Maldives today? How does a Maldivian born fifteen years ago interpret the paintings? What would be the impression created in the painting called Ala’ Olhu if the woman was wearing a black buruga, instead of the blue dress and kandiki that is tied up in a knot at her knees?

Theyo Kulain Dhivehi Raajje runs at the National Art Gallery from 21 May 2009.

Reviewed by Ifham Niyaz
14 June 2009

Sabina Manik’s exhibition ’Whimsical Poetry’ running at the National Art Gallery from 16 April onwards includes her works from 2007 and 2008.  Looking around each individual piece on display, it is hard to ignore the flow of story from each painting to the next. They start with a certain confusion, drama, leading to exploration, understanding, and acceptance. They show experiences of varying colours, endurance or perhaps absorbance of a foreign culture, and then the realisation of a space in time that is peaceful and true to the self.

Love, of one’s place in time and the things that surround, seem to be the ruling topic. After all, this is the theme that she strives to live her life by. Sabina believes that it is the story of love that is always sought through art. Just like she believes that anything can become beautiful through art.

Sabina has been painting and writing for as long as she can remember. This has been her outlet for self expression, which proved quite important especially after she opted to settle in these islands almost three decades ago. Her poetry comes simultaneously with her artwork, as referenced in the exhibition title. She says her words are ‘just words’ as in patterns or strokes that she uses to express a feeling in each painting. She supposes that words are made redundant in the face of more dominant visuals, just like the spiritual symbol of the mosque that resembles Maldivian culture, a symbol often used in her drawings.

Whimsical Poetry is Sabina Manik’s first show of her paintings in the Maldives. Her next artistic project is a collection of English poetic expressions in the manner of Japanese Haiku, each accompanied with her spontaneous paintings depicting her experiences of a life lived here and elsewhere.

Reviewed by Ifham Niyaz
12 May 2009

Samah Ahmed was born in the Maldives and was partly educated in the Maldives and the UK. In 2005 she completed her undergraduate studies in fine Art (Painting) from the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London and since then she has been residing in the UK. The exhibition at the National Art Gallery, running from the 12th of March until 9th April 2009 is her first solo exhibition and is also the first time she is exhibiting in the Maldives.

While this is Samah Ahmed’s first show in the Maldives, this is also the first time a serious artist has made the subject of the blue seas surrounding the Maldivian islands a major theme of a body of work sustained over years. Maldives is well known throughout the world for its natural beauty and often tourist brochures and souvenir postcards depict the inviting colors of these seas. Made famous worldwide by photographers such as Michael Friedel and Sakis Papadopoulos, Maldives remained the perfect image of paradise in the western imagination until events in the early years of the first decade of the 21st century - both technological advances and political developments - made it possible for local photographers to present the world with their own views of the country. And while Maldivians have long been informed of the threat of global warming and sea level rise, nothing much has been done by way of addressing the issue. And the tourist brochures that celebrated the clear blue lagoons and the natural beauty of the Maldives carefully avoided the problem of sea level rise except when it worked to increase the rarity value of the archipelago, with phrases such as ‘this might be the last chance to experience one of the wonders of the world before it disappears’.

The exhibition ‘Blue’ celebrates the beauty of the Maldives, and especially the clear seas surrounding the islands as well as attempts to communicate the threats facing the Maldivian people. The artist statement in the exhibition catalogue reads, “I also touch upon on a more somber and serious reality of nature faced by the Maldives. Global warming is very real and a persistent geographic threat faced by all us Maldivians - would we exist in hundred years’ time? The lack of land and the absence of any living being in my paintings is a stark reminder that we do not have the answer to this burning question. Is the view on my canvas all that will be seen in reality in a hundred years time – I wonder.”

‘Blue’ by Samah Ahmed will run at the National Art Gallery, Maldives from 12 March 2009 to 11 April 2009. Gallery opening hours are 10AM to 4PM weekdays.