PULSE I 2000

Curator: Right, let’s talk about "PULSE I," an acrylic on canvas piece created in 2000 by Rashid Al Khalifa. I’d categorize it as abstract expressionism, don't you think? Editor: My first thought is of volcanic activity… plumes of smoke, subterranean pressure trying to break free. Does it always have to be “expressionism?" Isn't "volcanism" more evocative? Curator: Well, it’s a label, a starting point. What symbols or elements leap out at you? Do the colours say something? Editor: The central massing of impasto orange seems like contained chaos…it suggests, on the one hand, aggressive masculinity perhaps, yet on the other hand there’s a softening of the boundaries between this powerful element and the calmer blue-grey border, don’t you think? Curator: Definitely a fascinating push and pull there. That muted periphery creates this sort of arena, you're right, holding this raw, untamed energy in the centre. It almost seems as if Al Khalifa is wrestling with these internal contradictions... like fire and ice battling it out. Editor: Perhaps a reflection of broader anxieties from the turn of the millennium? Consider Y2K panic, dot-com bubble bursting… We were on the cusp of uncertainty! Could it mirror society holding its breath, that pulse right before change really takes hold? Curator: Interesting. So, that "pulse," in the title isn't just individual, but cultural too. Editor: Precisely. And those subtle hints of green interwoven within the composition? Moments of optimism struggling for space in a world overwhelmed by its anxieties… it’s subtle yet palpable. Curator: And thinking about the artist’s background... living and working in Bahrain. I suppose that context has to filter in somehow, influencing Al Khalifa's understanding and representation of "pulse". Editor: Everything touches everything! That visual interplay becomes this condensed history— a personal narrative mingling with larger cultural currents. Layers on layers! That central visual drama makes you wonder…where are things heading, still? Curator: Right! In the end, it invites us to keep searching for our own sense of equilibrium, our own internal "pulse," amidst that constant tension between chaos and stillness. Editor: So… in a strange way this "volcanism" offers both warning and reassurance. I'll accept that, even with its 'ism' baggage!