Béa Kayani

From a young age, I set out to explore the contradictions and connections between dream, reality and the emotions that they evoke. It was a desire to search for permanence amongst ephemeral moments, along with the urge and struggle to stay in the flow that gave birth to my creative journey.

A keen sense of observation has been further developed by strong visual influences from Bernhard Edmaier's photography and Islamic art, whilst the works of Anselm Kiefer and Rumi contributed to shaping my mode of expression.

Light, water, nature and humanity form the four key strands of my work: Luminosity, Waterscapes, Earth and Humans. Interconnected in terms of visual aesthetics and narrative, these continually evolving bodies of work support one another. Yet each strand breathes independently, telling its own unique story. Interplay of figurative and abstraction with sensitivity, a hint of humour and eccentricity are fundamental to my treatment of each theme.

I am attracted to the sublime beauty of the mundane. I encapsulate nature and visual stimuli to create scenarios that form a sensory experience. Seemingly abstract images are developed from complex detail, bold colours, movement and atmosphere. This deliberately opens a portal for the viewer to interpret these images according to individual perception and visual language.

Simultaneously, I am acutely aware of my place in society. The space that lies between the comfort derived from the beauty of my abstract works and the comfort derived from the beauty of my abstract works and the discomfort of what I witness, is the space that I seek to connect with context in a manner that challenges current norms, whilst critically engaging with the dominant aesthetic, cultural and religious values of our time. Heavily laden, large-scale mixed media pieces question the situation of women and children through the eyes of religion and media, within the context of war massacre, rape and sexual jihad.

Through my earth series, I continue to explore the transformation of nature towards rebirth and regeneration by developing detailed and symbolic canvases.

Website: beakayani.com/