Omar Hassan's Night
Omar Hassan: Night (2015)
Omar Hassan’s Night (2015) is a painting from his series titled Injections. This series speaks about Hassan’s upbringing as an Italian-Egyptian artist. Night is a painting that consists of spray-painted dots. The dots in colour represent the essence and purpose of the work while the black dots compose the background. The abstract nature of the background, as well as others in the series, has been inspired by Arabic art. In contrast to this, the frame surrounding the canvas, which also forms part of the work, references the old master frames from Renaissance Italy. The frame is very much integral to the work to the extent of which the imagery on the canvas continues onto the frame. These works present a true fusion between …show more content…
This bright dot is the essence of the work and symbolizes the beginning and the end. It is complementary to a painter’s first stroke as it is typically the first mark that street artists make when testing a new can of spray. This allows them to understand the consistency of the paint and the direction the painter will splatter. However, Hassan diverged from the typical characteristics of street art by allowing the paint to drip uncontrollably from the point of contact, until it eventually reached the bottom of the canvas.
The sprayed-on dot is also a symbol for life. The artist, having been diagnosed with diabetes, is required to inject himself with five insulin shots everyday. As he injects life into his body, he injects colour onto a canvas and brings it to life. The dripping effect, which results from spraying paint on the canvas, also appears to resemble veins. Another element of the work is the waiting and feeling aspect, after a dot has been sprayed painted, Hassan must wait for the paint to dry and during this time he waits for the colours to speak to him and make their way onto the
Omar Hassan’s Night (2015) is a painting from his series titled Injections. This series speaks about Hassan’s upbringing as an Italian-Egyptian artist. Night is a painting that consists of spray-painted dots. The dots in colour represent the essence and purpose of the work while the black dots compose the background. The abstract nature of the background, as well as others in the series, has been inspired by Arabic art. In contrast to this, the frame surrounding the canvas, which also forms part of the work, references the old master frames from Renaissance Italy. The frame is very much integral to the work to the extent of which the imagery on the canvas continues onto the frame. These works present a true fusion between …show more content…
This bright dot is the essence of the work and symbolizes the beginning and the end. It is complementary to a painter’s first stroke as it is typically the first mark that street artists make when testing a new can of spray. This allows them to understand the consistency of the paint and the direction the painter will splatter. However, Hassan diverged from the typical characteristics of street art by allowing the paint to drip uncontrollably from the point of contact, until it eventually reached the bottom of the canvas.
The sprayed-on dot is also a symbol for life. The artist, having been diagnosed with diabetes, is required to inject himself with five insulin shots everyday. As he injects life into his body, he injects colour onto a canvas and brings it to life. The dripping effect, which results from spraying paint on the canvas, also appears to resemble veins. Another element of the work is the waiting and feeling aspect, after a dot has been sprayed painted, Hassan must wait for the paint to dry and during this time he waits for the colours to speak to him and make their way onto the