“Ice Cream in a Dream”

Artist: Zaina El-Said(Jordan)

Year: 2018

Medium:  Digital Collage on Canson Paper

“Jerusalem”

Artist: Adnan Samman (Sirian)

Year: 2017

Adnan Samman is a Syrian visual artist and musician residing and working in Budapest, Hungary / His practice searches for beauty in contrast by crafting collages that mix the melancholy of the Middle East with nostalgia in a contemporary model / Adnan’s work has crossed borders to reach cities such as London, Palermo, Cairo, Berlin and Amman / His visual approach was praised by key figures in the creative community, including head of Central Saint Martins: British architect Jeremy Till /

Every month the online gallery EMERGEAST.com contributes to al.arte.magazine’s art section by shining light on the movers and shakers of the Middle Eastern art scene. Artist spotlights, artist interviews, and all things art from the Middle East – stay tuned!

Who is Amr Attamimi the photographer?

A Yemeni artist who travels through time and space with his thought and vision.

[caption id="attachment_14915" align="alignnone" width="1050"] I am a human[/caption]

Your 'La La Land' series is highly capturing and thought provoking – what were your inspirations behind it?

They were mixed feelings of wanting to live in the land of imagination, Lalaland however is not a perfect land for everyone but it is perfect for me. [caption id="attachment_14910" align="alignnone" width="1000"] La La Land[/caption]

Your technique (particularly in your La La Land series) is unique – tell us a little more about how you adopted this technique and your intentions with it. 


My intention behind using this photography technique is to express myself better, it is very compelling for me to be able to put two things together and add my own uniqueness to it to deliver my subtle feelings and thoughts to the public. My photography technique makes me more in control of the message that I want to put forward.

How has your move from Yemen to the UK influenced your art, in terms of identity still playing a role in your production?

There is definitely a different influence to my art here in the UK than in Yemen, I cannot say if it is better or worse but it is absolutely something different. there is different kind of inspirations when I look at things like the architectural and the scenery of everything around me, this does not change my identity but however in one way or the other it has an effect on my work.

[caption id="attachment_14908" align="alignnone" width="1000"] La La Land[/caption]

As a young Yemeni artist at such an early stage of their career – what can we expect from Amr Attamimi in the coming years?

I have big dreams to achieve, in the coming years I want to exhibit my work in different regions in the world especially America, Japan and the Middle East.

If you had the chance to be a world-renowned artist for a day, who would it be?

Salvador Dali.

Finally, are you in La La Land?

Every month the online gallery EMERGEAST.com contributes to al.arte.magazine’s art section by shining light on the movers and shakers of the Middle Eastern art scene. Artist spotlights, artist interviews, and all things art from the Middle East – stay tuned!

Artist of the Month: Nic Courdy

Nicholas Courdy is a Palestinian-American artist currently based out of Salt Lake City. His recent works use multimedia to explore compilation aesthetics. He connects great old masters with details by contemporary artists.

Your works are a visual feast to say the least! What is your inspiration behind your provocative and imaginative renditions?

I was spending time in art museums and I loved the feeling of travelling through history, movements and materials. I wanted to try and convey this feeling into a single image.  I also became curious about what it meant to be 'contemporary'. Could something that only references historical material and imagery still be considered contemporary?

[caption id="attachment_14058" align="alignnone" width="1050"] Baellieur // Reigate - © Nic Courdy[/caption] Your approach involves the appropriation of art, can you tell the readers a little more about what this means?

I am very inspired by internet culture and the collaboration it harbours. My work predominantly appropriates public domain imagery, meaning the content has been made available for use by its creators to everyone with internet access. I feel that my work is more of a compilation of appropriated artifacts rather than raw appropriation. Each appropriated image was created with a specific intent, through my compilation I hope to give it a role in an entirely new narrative. To me it functions as a silent collaboration, where I may never meet the original creator, but through the internet I was able to make something (indirectly) with their help.

[caption id="attachment_14060" align="aligncenter" width="965"] Berndtson // Moshiri - © Nic Courdy[/caption] Your digital compilations address both past and present art movements - what is your message through these dynamic images?

I think this goes back to my answer to the first question with what it means to be contemporary. I think using past and present art movements maybe challenges notions of 'contemporary' especially in the art world where 'contemporary' is a word that is generally used as a praise of high honour. Challenging the contemporary ideology is not a main direction of my work but a idea that has appeared in certain works. I am more interested in exploring the question above "Could something that only references historical material and imagery still be considered contemporary?"

[caption id="attachment_14068" align="alignnone" width="1050"] Pink - © Nic Courdy[/caption] Identity often plays an important role in the inspiration or subject matter in an artist's work, especially in the Middle East. As an American of Palestinian descent how, if at all, does identity influence your stance as an artist?

I believe it does, although I believe it inspires the work from a different perspective. Conflicted notions of identity due to my American and Palestinian descent may contribute to the mixed use of imagery in my work. The artifacts generally span through time, culture, and material. It may be a digital collage or video work, but the elements that make it function are from all different parts of the world. I think the identity conflict between my two backgrounds was a catalyst for some of the conceptual questions and aesthetic decision making in my work.

[caption id="attachment_14062" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Brun // Liechtenstein - © Nic Courdy[/caption] You have certainly made your mark as an artist with a large social media following eager to watch and take in your posts and latest work - what's next for Nic Courdy?

I have been taking some time to explore different outlets for my work. I am currently exploring implementing different ways to interact with the videos. I am also preparing for a show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City. I have been exploring how I want to curate the show.