a visual journal of maldives

Photos: F. Ibrahim, 2007

Links to additional images and text on the opening:

http://tamilweek.com/news-features/archives/1070

http://www.infolanka.com/news/

http://maldivianart.blogspot.com/

Interior of Mystique Design studio, now run by Mohamed Madheehu (photo: Ahmed Naeem)

Detail of a t-shirt print by Lemon, managed by Ahmed Asif (Maizan) - photo: Ahmed Asif

Extract from Beyond the Tourists’ Eye exhibtion catalogue, for which I wrote an essay.

Tourism and Tradition as Avenues of Art

Although the formal inauguration of the NAG and the establishment of the NCA were both turning points in the institutionalization of the arts of the country, these developments also overshadowed more dynamic aspects of the arts and crafts of the country. As noted, the onset of tourism in the country had enormous consequences for the craftsmen and artisans of the country – both on those who wished to pursue the more traditional craft practices as well as those who wanted to utilize their craft making and artistic skills in exploring new ways of expressing themselves. A most interesting development in this regard had been the overlap of art and craft at least in some domains, for example, that of the hand-printed (souvenir) t-shirts. Several artists opened shop to cater for the souvenir market with local designs printed on imported t-shirts. Among the more established were ‘Nice Guys’, Pink Coral and Lemon. The designs produced under these labels combined local themes with styles borrowed from literally all genres including graphic design, modern painting styles as well as styles indigenous to Maldivian artifacts such as the patterns found on Thundu kunaa (traditional woven mats), the geometric patterns found on stone carvings.

Creative artists in need of a free, expressive art form were still left with no avenue where their original works could be displayed or marketed. The lack of an academic or cultural discourse on what constitutes Maldivian visual art left artists and craftsmen only with the old references of traditional craft practices. However, increasing communication and exposure to visual art trends in the world also left local artisans with a sense of something amiss. Hence, we see several of the aforementioned souvenir artists – including Hassan Shameem, Ahmed Asif, Mohamed Madheehu and Ibrahim Rasheed (representing the brands Pink Coral, Lemon and ‘Nice-Guys’ respectively), experimenting with various forms and techniques of artistic production. Hassan Shameem nearly perfected the technique of oil and acrylic painting and produced several National Award winning works in genres as diverse as portraiture, landscape and early 20th century abstraction. Mohamed Madheehu and Ibrahim Rasheed produced water colors, etchings, as well as oils. Some of these have been exhibited both locally and abroad. Ahmed Asif, who still runs Lemon in Male (a sales outlet where t-shirts screen-printed with Asif’s designs are available for purchase) underwent extensive training in graphic design including stage design in Japan before being employed at the state owned Television Maldives as a set designer. He later went on to establish Lemon and now has diversified his practice into interior and production design for various events including travel fairs and other performative projects.

Text copyright National Art Gallery, Maldives, 2007

Mamduh Waheed, The Lure of Desire (work in progress), Acrylic on Canvas, 2 x 3 feet, 2007

Mamduh Waheed, Strange Creatures (Pop Version 1.1), Acrylic on Canvas, 2 x 3 feet, 2007