A personal discovery: Hazem Mahdy

Atman - 3 - glicée print - 110 x 110 cm - 2014 by Hazem Mahdy for Atman show (Courtesy: Hazem Mahdy and Carbon 12 Dubai)

The first time I saw Hazem Mahdy’s work I was intrigued by the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the work. He uses one or two photographed images of his own body - in most cases his arm - and repeats them again and again until they lose their initial context and become only about their shapes, lines and curves, which then in a wider sense become about their collective form.

When I met the artist a couple of weeks back to interview him for this story in The National, I was really blown away by his concept. He uses his naked body because it is him in his most genuine form without any coverings or masks and he has a very spiritual, universal message. "I am trying to underline the fact that there are no separation between me and you, between us and everyone else, we are all one, we are all connected," he told me.

So many times, art in this part of the region has a political message or a highly philosophical agenda, which, don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy. But when a piece of art makes you stop, slow down your breath and contemplate on the basic elements that connect us all as humans - that for me is really special.

See more of Hazem Mahdy's art here