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Ahmad Mallahs story takes its beginning in a harsh place. He finished his bachelor’s at the University of Damascus in the midst of the Syrian Revolution 2013, but there was no time for celebration. He had no choice but to flee from the terrors of war and in 2014 he found himself in a Dutch refugee camp.
“In the Netherlands, I was inspired by some Syrian artists I met in the refugee camp, and my big brother who was an architect, artist, and tattoo artist encouraged me to set my emotions free on paper. It was some process, but I felt relieved for every finished project.”
Shortly hereafter 2016, Ahmad Mallah applied for the art school AKV|St.joost in Breda.
“I had a small portfolio, but fortunately they could see the beginning talent that I had at the moment. It was a life-changing moment when I started. The process of experimenting with different media to tell my stories was heartwarming and full of inspiration from the other students, my teachers, and the everyday moments that I encountered.”
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We need to understand the sad to find happiness
Ahmad Mallah is fascinated by human behavior, psychology, and facial expressions. In recent years, he has especially been focusing on portraits. Ahmad’s human-like creations are often connected to the pain and despair that is to be found in life:
“I embrace the dark side and melancholia in order to see the light. I can’t ignore the great collective sadness that is to be found in the world. We can’t pretend that everything is okay,” explains Ahmad Mallah. “I’m studying it, I’m reflecting upon it and I’m trying to show it to the world as a part of my healing process. My abstract portraits have a powerful directedness with intense emotions and melancholic expressions.”
Ahmad’s ink drawings are on the other hand full of sharp contrast. Every line has a purpose, every line holds a moment of lived experience.
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Inspiration from music and poetry
“When I paint I’m often listening to melancholic songs and oriental instruments. Sometimes I’m even listening to podcasts or poetry by, for example, Charles Bukowski or the Palistenensian poet Mahmoud Darwish. It inspires me a lot to create.”
There is neither need for pictures nor other references when Ahmad draws and paints. “I let my emotions rule and decide what ends on the paper. It is always hard to stop and say: “Now it’s a finished work.”
Ahmad Mallah is an artist in constant development. He finds new areas that he can engulf in his creativity and his Lifeworld.
“Next to my practice as a painter and my interest in drawing, I’ve started to experiment with installations, Dutch poetry, spoken word, film, and performance. I’m trying to create an art experience that can combine all the forms of story-telling in order to get them to think or feel something – or even in order to get them to interact with it. An example could be that they leave me a personal memory as it happened at my last installation.”
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A chance to meet an artist with a career ahead of him
Here, early in his career, Ahmad Mallah already has many exciting projects on the palette.
“As a young and emerging artist, who graduated in the middle of a world-spanning pandemic I am very proud of what I’ve already achieved. For example, I’ve been granted the Mondrian funds stipend for emerging artists in 2022-2023. I’m working with all my energy on a few exhibitions in the Netherlands, doing my first curator work in organizing an exhibition for De Plough Gallery in Amersfoort, NL and then I’ve been preparing for Art Nordic in Copenhagen.”
“Art is resistance and freedom to open up to new doors and opportunities for change and hope. Society needs art in order to reflect upon its everyday life. Dare to criticize and inspire others to see things from another perspective.”
You can meet Ahmad Mallah 24-26 of June at Lokomotivværkstedet where he plans to bring a collection of new and old drawings, paintings, and signed and numbered limited edition art posters.
Read more about Ahmad Mallah here: https://artahmadmallah.com, where you among other things can watch Ahmads Mallah’s graduation documentary “Stateless” and his latest short film “The Basement” which he released last November during his solo exhibition in the Exbunker in Utrecht, NL.
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