The Saudi painter, who made his debut at Art Dubai this year, discusses his artwork ‘Bright Pink Chasing The Blue Line’ DUBAI: This piece is so personal. It means a lot to me. I painted it recently, after my brother-in-law passed away. I usually treat art as therapy. The reason why I paint is to release this hidden energy within the soul — the chaos within me. It’s a way of letting go of certain memories. The first thing I did was to stretch a large canvas. I wanted to represent the beautiful memories between me and my brother-in-law and reflect what I’ve learned from his wisdom, brightness, and the love that he showed to his family. I even asked my young nephew Aziz to help me with this painting and to add his touches to the canvas to honor his father. There are flowers on the right side with funny childish colors. It was my nephew who painted them. A lot of my paintings are pure abstract. I got influenced studying abroad in the United States, specifically by the New York school from back in the Sixties and Seventies — artists like Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell. Recently, I’ve been trying to add a sense of life to my painting through items that I see at my house, my mother’s and my grandmother’s house. It’s nostalgic, bringing certain memories into the present moment. I wanted to make it as happy as I could by using bright colors that represent my inner soul. My brother-in-law, who lived in London, was into nature, health, antiques and vintage stuff. So that’s why I added a watermelon and vases. It adds part of his soul to this painting. I study the painting before I paint, but for this work, it felt more real; organic and raw. When I finished it, I felt alive. The reason why I give random titles to my paintings is because I want the audience to question and react. When I finished the painting, I saw that most of the colors were pink, and I saw this blue line in the corner. I wanted to relate my soul and my brother-in-law’s soul. It’s like I’m chasing his brightness, his soul, to catch it if I can.