Most of the time a work of art will begin with a series of highly personal thoughts and ideas that once embarked on will draw the artist deeper and deeper into the artistic sphere: a place where vision expands and the image begins to coalesce.

My aim in taking the family as my subject was to express on a matter of intense personal importance to me at this stage in my life and in the history of our nation.

I have tried to convey these ideas on the canvas’ surface through the use of simple marks and lines with something of the fluency and spontaneity of handwriting about them, as well as basic primary colors. I have come much closer to bringing the painting’s structural and emotional language into harmony.

I attach the greatest importance to draughtsmanship as it is the foundation of all my works. Through the photographic image I have tried to restore my relationship with both reality and realism. Although the background is made up of simple decorative patterns it plays a major role within the overall form of the piece. The faces and expressions of the roughly sketched out individuals and family groups spark memories and stories. The way these scenes are depicted may surprise or puzzle some, but it should be remembered that the artist’s primary duty is to the language of art itself: lines, colors and the manipulation of space.

The family is my family; my childhood the childhood shared by us all… Despite the nostalgia evident in these works, they are first and foremost an attempt to fashion a viable approach to our future. Our hope rests on our ability to pass on our values to coming generations.

Mohammed Abla

Cairo 2006