MOHAMMED KAZEM | ACRYLIC ON SCRATCHED PAPER (FROM THE SCRATCHED SERIES)

Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai  

Mohammed Kazem (b. 1969, United Arab Emirates) was a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society early in his career and is acknowledged as one of the 'Five', an informal group of Emirati artists – including Hassan Sharif, Abdullah Al Saadi, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and Hussain Sharif – at the vanguard of conceptual and interdisciplinary art practice.

Throughout his practice, Kazem has tried to capture the un-capturable. From his own body and the objects of his quotidian to nature itself, Kazem senses what is un-measurable— sometimes even un-seeable—and transfigures it into visual form. He observes and measures, yet he does not record. He collects and analyses, yet he does not portray. Rather, Kazem responds to the abstractness of nature. He hears, then renders sounds visually. He sees, then uses action and performance to make a vision manifest. His scratchings, paintings, drawings and sculpture are at the fulcrum of many senses—sound, sight, touch, movement. And each work offers new proof that Kazem can see what lies beyond sight.

The present work is a continuation of Mohammed Kazem’s hallmark scratching technique which began in the 1990s. For Acrylic on Scratched Paper, Kazem used a pair of scissors to create bumps, depressions and reliefs that are scratched onto the surface of cotton paper in braille-like marks, suggesting a delicate poeticism. The pair of scissors pushes and pulls against the paper in repeating formats, tearing and scratching the material to extract sound visually.

In 2013 he represented the UAE’s National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale with an immersive video installation entitled Walking on Water, curated by Reem Fadda. In 2015 he showcased works from the Tongue series at 1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the UAE, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi.

His works are held in the collections of the British Museum, London; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim New York; Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Vehbi Koç Foundation, Istanbul; Jameel Art Centre, Dubai; King Abdelaziz Centre for World Culture, Dhahran among others.

Kazem currently resides in Dubai.