Huwa 2008

Here we have Abdul Qader Al Raes’s *Huwa*, where swathes of watercolour and ink create a colourful, dreamlike space. The Arabic calligraphy floats, in teal and pink, over an abstract wash of ochre, umber and rose. I can imagine the artist carefully planning the composition and underlayers, and then allowing chance to take over in the merging of liquid hues. He might have been thinking about how to balance tradition with innovation, whilst respecting the rich heritage of Arabic calligraphy, pushing it into new territories of abstraction and emotion. The surface of the artwork becomes a site of inquiry, like a collaboration between intention and accident. The controlled brushstrokes of the calligraphy contrast with the fluid, uncontrolled washes and splatters which evoke feeling and movement. There is a dialogue between the past and the present. It reminds me how artists continually converse across generations, each adding their own voice to the evolving story of art.