https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u 'I have a temper. It doesn't always show but in some situations my temper flares up. It was war and displacement that made me tough. I developed an aggressive and defensive force in me... but the violence I have witnessed was translated into painting,' – Ayman Baalbaki en-us 2021-11-05 17:10:47 UTC 2023-04-19 10:45:47 UTC hello@padlet.com coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873149375 Untitled (Loss and Destruction) was painted by Baalbaki in 2010. The structure in the painting is a real building that Baalbaki witnessed during the Lebanese Civil War. Baalbaki's fixation with conflict is manifest throughout his entire life and work. Similar to the first painting, Loss and Destruction possesses a similar color palette with its dull, yet subtle, colors. ]]> 2021-11-07 18:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873149375 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873160174 Al-Mulatham A was painted by Baalbaki in 2011. This painting depicts a freedom fighter facing the viewer with their eyes closed. This could represent the person's state of peace with the end of the war or could show their inner peace. This painting takes a different turn from the past three by switching the color palette from dull colors to bright, cheerful colors. (Part of Freedom Fighters series) ]]> 2021-11-07 18:08:48 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873160174 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873168688 The tower of Babel by Baalbaki was painting in 2005. It depicts the destruction of the tower of Babel. This was one of his earlier paintings depicting a structure that has been destroyed and in ruin. The colors of the painting are similar to his other earlier works with the dark and dull backgrounds. In this particular painting, the tower is brighter with subtle colors found in it. ]]> 2021-11-07 18:15:54 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873168688 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873174469 Ayman Baalbaki was born in 1975 in Odeissé, Lebanon. He is a Lebanese contemporary artist who now works in Beirut, Lebanon. Baalbaki was born during the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s, where he eventually got his inspiration for his subject matter. As a child growing up during the Lebanese civil war and Israeli occupation, he was forced to leave his village and relocate to Beirut. He moved to the neighborhood of Wadi Abu Jamil, which he has described in interviews as an overcrowded, forced melting pot of people from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. Now located in the exclusive Downtown district, during the war, the area was a refuge for the displaced. “The Lebanese don’t want to address the issue of the war,” he says, “but at the same time it’s everywhere. I am part of a generation of artists and writers who lived 20 years of it and don’t have anything to say but about the war.” Ayman Baalbaki’s father, Fawzi Baalbaki, and one of his uncles, Abdelhamid Baalbaki, (1940-2013) were also both visual artists and educators in their time. Also, Said, Ayman's brother, and two of his cousins, Oussama and Hoda, are also established visual artists of their own. He began his education in painting and sculpture at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. He then went on to get his diploma of superior studies in Art-Space at the ENSAD, Paris, France from 2001-2002 and his D.E.A. in “Art of Images and Contemporary art” at Paris VIII, France a year later. He focuses on aspects of war, memory loss, displacement, and more ideas similar to those aspects. He works with mediums such as painting, installation, and sculpture. Ayman Baalbaki started several series of paintings to show the aftermath and pain of warfare. A few of the paintings are actual scenes of warfare that he witnessed during the civil war in Lebanon. A lot of the paintings have brightly colored backgrounds with aspects of war shown in front of them. Today, Baalbaki lives in Beirut after having returned from an extended stay in Paris, where he is now pursuing his doctorate degree. His work is increasingly gaining recognition, with his most recent exhibition garnering positive reviews from the media. ]]> 2021-11-07 18:20:47 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873174469 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873181261 Anonymous II was painted by Baalbaki in 2018. This particular painting shows the clear message of his work; the war and destruction that he grew up with. The painting depicts a freedom fighter wearing a gas mask and a similar kuffeyeh as the subject in "Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom". ]]> 2021-11-07 18:26:20 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873181261 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873190786 Sans Titre was painted by Baalbaki in 2016. Similar to his other earlier painting titled, Loss and Destruction, the painting possesses dull colors with the subject structure in ruin. Sans Titre is a perfect example of his style of showing structures in ruin. ]]> 2021-11-07 18:34:25 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873190786 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873219074 Picadilly Theater was painted by Baalbaki in 2019. The painting depicts the Picadilly Theater in ruins after the end of the Lebanese civil war. This painting is similar to the first three with the color palette having dull yet suble colors, emphasizing the decay of the building. ]]> 2021-11-07 18:56:20 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873219074 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873244124 Burj El Murr was painted by Baalbaki in 2014. The painting depicts the tower, Burj El Murr, during its time in the war. During the war, this tower was sought after by many groups due to its location and height. The reasoning for the flowered patterns behind most of his paintings is because it is a pattern similar to the colorful dresses worn by women in southern Lebanon. ]]> 2021-11-07 19:17:51 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873244124 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873251561 The Holiday Inn was painted by Baalbaki in 2010. This painting represents the shelled-out hulk of the former Holiday Inn Hotel in Beirut, which still blights its skyline after decades of lying vacant. During the long civil war in Lebanon all of the fighting militias sought to control this tall building as it occupies the most strategic site in downtown Beirut. ]]> 2021-11-07 19:24:20 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873251561 coditho https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873274518 Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom was painted by Baalbaki in 2011. This painting is probably one of his most popular paintings. It's based on the widely common misquotation of Mao Zedong's "Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom". The work is based on multi visual forms; the political leftist poster, the graves of Lebanese martyrs, that are influenced by the Iranian Revolution. (Part of Freedom Fighters series)]]> 2021-11-07 19:43:16 UTC https://padlet.com/coditho/pmhea6ovy0ovll0u/wish/1873274518