El Mormah 2016

Alaa Awad made this painting, El Mormah, with what looks like thick strokes of oil paint. It’s like a bustling scene—maybe a festival? The muted earthy colours are punctuated by bright blues and whites. I can almost feel Awad’s hand moving across the canvas, building up layers of paint, scraping back, and then adding more. I bet he was really in the zone. The figures are elongated and kind of cartoonish. They're full of life, and you can see the energy of the event reflected in the brushstrokes. I’m drawn to the way the horses are depicted, those spindly legs giving them a whimsical feel. What was Awad thinking as he painted them? Did he want to capture the movement, the excitement, or something else entirely? To me it feels like he had a lot of fun and wanted to make other people enjoy themselves too. You know, painting is like a big conversation that artists have with each other across time. We're all looking, learning, and responding to what's come before, trying to add our own little piece to the story.