by Dianne Apen-Sadler
Wadeei Khaled: ‘The Lines And Shapes Reflect the Toughness I Lived Through’
22 May 2024
The exhibition "A Real Bad Dream" is on display at the Artbooth Gallery in Abu Dhabi until May 27, featuring the works of Oussama Diab and Wadeei Khaled. Here, we speak to Khaled about how his childhood in a refugee camp has influenced his work, and what he hopes to convey through his paintings.
— When, and how, did you discover your love of art?
— When I was a kid, almost nine years old, I had to be hospitalised for a few months. My parents would come to visit and bring candies and toys with them, but I asked them to bring me colouring pencils and drawing paper instead. I guess this is when I discovered my passion for art.
— Can you tell us a bit about your childhood and how that has shaped you as an artist?
— As someone born in the Al-Arroub refugee camp, I had a tough childhood. The environment surrounding me — the toughness of the weather being very cold or very hot, and the Israeli troops regularly breaking into my house to arrest my dad — was difficult. From an early age, we were also out looking for income and working, even when we were expected to be at school. Despite this, I was an excellent student and had a great deal of respect for the school and our teachers.
All of this influenced my artwork and style — as if, in a way, I was looking for comfort and warmth in the colours I was and am using. The use of lines and shapes in my works reflects the toughness and complexity of what I lived through, while the figures in my paintings are all part of my memories of my parents and friends.
I use a lot of lines and circles because these used to appear to me when I was hallucinating with a high fever during my illness. Whenever I paint them, it seems like those lines and shapes are being transferred straight from my consciousness onto the canvas, as if they are a maths problem that I am trying to solve.
My time in hospital as a child also gave me a fear of death and a feeling that the end was near. After leaving, I was on medication for three years, and my lifestyle was restricted — I had to limit my physical movement as I would faint whenever I ran or jumped. I also developed a fear of losing my loved ones from seeing my father arrested. It reached the point where I decided to isolate myself and live alone in a nearby neglected water tank, just to avoid any hurtful news.
That was the beginning of my art journey — me and my art in my isolation.
— Why choose landscapes as a subject?
— To me, landscape as a theme is the origin of everything. It is interconnected with identity and existence. Whenever I want to escape my feelings, I paint landscapes. I dive into researching the land and our relationship with it, who was there in the past, what was their path in life like, their secrets… I put myself in their shoes and imagined that I was them, living thousands of years ago. And through that, I am back from landscapes into figures and people.
— Who, or what, would you say is your biggest influence?
— My father is my biggest influence. He is from and a part of the camp and has always been chased and arrested. For me, he symbolises the landscape, the family, and the home.
— What do you hope to convey through your paintings?
— As a Palestinian my art talks about the holiness of land, family, and people, as if I want to assure our existence from the beginning of humanity. Paintings, for me, are like the window through which I see the most beautiful things.
Palestinian Art History Series. For children (short stories) by Wadeei Khaled
— What does “A Real Bad Dream” mean to you?
— I wish the dream to be a glimpse that ends quickly, and to be awake to see ourselves living a normal and free life in the future.
— You have had artworks displayed at numerous exhibitions both locally and internationally. What is your biggest achievement to date?
— In Palestine, we are obliged to live and think on a day-by-day basis. Through every stage of my life, my art has gone around the same idea and theme, and that is the idea of existence. My greatest achievement is that discovery.
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