visible poems

Hend Adnan displays drawings, in which time either freezes momentously or stops to signal hard-to-be interpreted feelings. The artist presents meanings cast as lyrical images, which sometimes challenge attempts to describe them. Although Hend’s faces appear to be eager to give us access to everything, they refuse to disclose their true nature; they are keen to keep their secret hung in the space of the work.
The painter introduced multiples of faces, which denote different women and girls, who happened to sit for their portraits. The painter cleverly illustrated in them the appealing and overwhelming presence of thousands of different women and girls.
Hend’s drawings reveal exhausted and limp bodies, some of which are cocooned in transparent fabric; others are protesting to the world with broken hearts. An air of minor defeats and setbacks intrudes on the details of these limp bodies. Further expansion of the scene reveals a face overshadowed by a luscious body; the viewer will find it hard to recognise the facial features of women and girls as Hend painted them tenderly and emotionally.
Hend’s women and girls are relaxing and self-contended, as if we were peeping at them lying in their beds. Other paintings show females as they turn their backs on the world; others are stuck meaningfully to the wall.
The dramatic finale to the scene is provided when the bodies get rid of their weights; and ghosts of their setbacks disappear from their faces. We come across a lone female body soaring into a space painted in blue.
We can almost realise the movement of the limbs or the ripples of the velvet dress blown in the air. The dress, alternately transparent and dim, tempts the viewer to gaze intently and hopefully to discover the secret of the alluring presence in the details and the colour tones. The recurrent appearance of the body in different colours and across varied spaces is combined with its soaring into an endless void.
In an interview, Hend confirmed to me that these flying bodies are the voice of her revolution. According to her explanation, bodies lying helplessly on the canvas and silently surrendering to the classic rules of the portrait have been freed to soar into the air unstoppably. The painter’s new experiment is the highlight of a collection of mini and large-size paintings.
Hend is an accomplished realist painter. She excels in colour manipulation and treatment. Her skill is evident in controlling dimensions and proportions. She pays special interest to the influence of shade and light. Her unique technique in this respect is highlighted in limbs, details and the reflection of the light on tendrils of hair straying across the space of the canvas.
Hend’s artistic skill is also evident in her admirable control of the dimensions of the body compared to the surrounding space. Likewise, she comes up with an admirable blend of colour and a selection of fascinating shades.
In addition, the painter makes use of her exceptional artistic ability to empathise with her women and girls. She inspires them to speak out and express themselves. Reciprocating, they entrusted the painter to conceal their souls beneath layers of colour and between the folds of the lines. Given such a credit, Hend has been keen to explore the canvas for areas of interactive communication, which help her take part in such a mute dialogue.
Hend displays a variety of faces denoting different women and girls swathed in neutral colour or gleaming in bright ones. The feminine presence in Hend’s work is not downgraded even when the space narrows and expands. The painter’s females are inspired to speak out; each of them voices the concern of their gender.
Hend had previously distributed female bodies across the space in the canvas. Being together, they lay peacefully, undisturbed. However, in her new exhibition, the space is dedicated to a lone woman or girl; details invoke messages composed by sorrow and joy.