Mounia Dadi

World of a Child-Woman

ALTHOUGH ARTIST MOUNIA DADI'S PAINTINGS ARE ABSTRACT, THEY TELL A REALISTIC STORY,

WRITES JUBBI FRANCIS

Moroccan artist Mounia Dadi says that for her, beauty ends where technicalities begin; they can never co-exist. Maybe it is this philosophy of Dadi's art that makes her work distinctive and exceptionally beautiful. Her use of strong colours and forceful brush strokes reveals a world influenced by master painters like Picasso, Dali, Matisse, Kandinsky, Dubuffet, Klimt, Modigliani, Giacometti, Chagall, Braque, Kacimi and. Belkahia among others.

When a painter is inspired by many maestros, the oft-heard criticism against him is that he does not have individuality. But Dadi proves that criticism wrong. For her, inspiration and creation are two different things. Her works are nothing if not very individualistic.

She was never interested in re-creating the perfect human form in her paintings. Dadi is an abstract artist whose human figures exalt every known emotion through this genre. But each painting, though abstract, tells a realistic story. They reveal a world as seen by the eyes of a child-woman.

Painting is in her DNA. Born into a family which devoted a lot of time to fine arts, Dadi's entry into the world of colours was a natural outgrowth of her background. Being an only child, she spent many lazy afternoons watching her parents paint. She herself formally started painting when she was about 10 years old. But her vivid imagination stood in the way of imitation. She refused to imitate reality and reproduce objects that were visible to the naked eye in situ.

Dadi has had several exhibitions worldwide, despite her relatively short painterly life. She held her first exhibiton in September 2005 in Ottawa, Canada . Dadi has also showcased her works in Morroco and Montreal. She will be exhibiting her paintings in Dubai at the Art Space Gallery located in The Fairmont Hotel, from Sept.20-Oct.17.

Art Space Gallery has been pivotal in bringing Dadi works to this part of Arabia. The gallery has been in the forefront of promoting modern, contemporary art from all over the world.

As a preview to her exhibition, Dadi spoke to Time Out about her ideas, inspiration and plans. Excerpts:

What inspires you?

Many things inspire me but the inner source of my inspiration has to be life in all its facets and the human being's constant battle for survival in it ...from glory to perdition, from laughter to sadness, from joy to agony, our lives seem to be this giant battlefield where all our emotions find shelter ...

The moment you cherish...

I really cherish the moment when my work was chosen to be the official poster of the international African and Creole film festival. This prize opened new avenues in my life.

Has age been a drawback in gaining recognition? If not, why?

Not at all, I don't think age has a lot to do with recognition especially when I feel like I have lived other lives before this one trapped in an artist's body!

What is your medium of painting? Why did you choose this in particular?

I use acrylic and mediums such as modelling pastes for the diverse effects that come out of it.

As a viewer, I feel your paintings praise the human form. Why do you focus on the human form and not other subjects?

I absolutely agree with this statement, I feel art should not reproduce what the eye can see but make visible what is hidden underneath. My universe is the expression of the human condition in all its facets, I believe the story of each of us is written within ourselves, from ecstasy to agony, every single pain, affliction has its own untold story and its own exploration.

Our lives are written like an unfinished novel. We live in a world full of duality to explore. I believe that the beauty resides in the ephemeral and not in what lasts. I search the eternal in the transitory and the glory in the chaotic. I am a Manichaeist torn between the exaltation and the horror of life. I am a pessimist with optimistic dreams but beyond that I am an inflexible idealistic and the human being is my favourite thing to explore.

You have used a lot of reds and blues in your works. Does it have any special significance?

Red is like the blood within and blue like the infinite sky above us. I am an Arian and my colour is red. They are strong colours. I like earth colours as well.

Which is your favourite work and why?

It depends on my moods.

Which collection are you exhibiting in Dubai? Do you have any expectations regarding your exhibition?

I am showcasing a little bit of all the different themes I have explored. Passions, Ideal, Spleen, and Loneliness are some of them. I have no expectation whatsoever; I go with the flow.

Do you think Dubai is the ' Paris' of Arab World?

Of what I hear about Dubai, it is a city of lights and cultural growth. So I have big hopes about it.

What are your plans?

I have a big show coming up in Paris in January 2007, in Montreal by spring and in New York in summer.