UAE Portrait of a Nation: Arab life unveiled through art

Engineer Remon Adel arrived in the UAE nine years ago, hoping to put his career back on track. Little did he know then that his hobby would one day become his vocation.

Remon Adel, an Egyptian expat who was inspired by the UAE culture, showcases his leather art at Abu Dhabi Mall. Ravindranath K / The National

Remon Adel likes to be creative. The Egyptian used to spend his days engineering pumps for international companies, while in his spare time creating unique Arabian-themed artwork from leather.

He is a regular at exhibitions and festivals, where he creates his pieces in front of an audience. His booth often stands out with its unique portraits of Arabian scenes shaped from leather down to the smallest details.

“This is the most important item of mine,” says the 39-year-old, pointing to a portrait of an woman wearing a veil. “Every scarf has its own design. If the wind is very strong then the scarf is moving upwards, but in this piece there is soft wind so it is moving downwards.

“The woman’s eyes are only showing and you can see the thick eyeliner and Bedouin tattoo on her forehead.”

Mr Adel was attracted to art at a young age. However, he took a break from his hobby to concentrate on his career when he arrived in the UAE nine years ago.

“I could not resist my passion for art and returned to it two years ago, but I took it to a completely different level and quality than what I was doing in Egypt.

“There I used to create 3-D masks on a daily basis for the market, for commercial use ... and it all used to sell.”

The art he creates these days is influenced by the desert and the people who live there, spending days together to create the more detailed pieces featuring horses and camels.

“Many people told me ‘this country is not for art, you will struggle’ but I introduced myself to the market by participating in exhibitions until people started to recognise me and I receive emails every day asking me to participate in events.”

Despite interest and acclaim, sales are difficult because his style “is not familiar to people”.

“I try to extend my business. I contact big companies who would like to have logos on certain items as gifts. I am trying to enter many fields.”

As challenging as it is to cover expenses, Mr Adel says he will not quit his passion even although it cost him his last job.

“Three months ago my former boss saw me at an exhibition and asked if I was running a company. I said, ‘No, I just distribute my art work in exhibitions’.”

However, his company was not convinced and ended his service two days later.

“I used to work from 9am to 6pm. I would return home to rest and then play some music and start working on my art at night.”

On the brighter side, he now has more time to dedicate to his artwork. Even the booths he sets up at events and malls take hours to put together.

“I am a one-man show. I do everything myself. Everyone comments that I take a lot of time to set up and display, which is true because the portraits need balance and the artwork should match with each other.”

As for producing the art pieces, some take six to eight days to complete.

He has also created pieces using wire twisted into the shapes of animals and other objects.

“This guitar took me six days to create here live in front of the audience,” he says.