New artwork! 'All too Human', 29.7 x 42.0cm, pen and ink on 230g akvarel paper, 2020

New artwork!

'All too Human', 29.7 x 42.0cm, pen and ink on 230g akvarel paper, 2020

I would like to know what this says to you. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

an art piece I made 5 years ago that feels more relevant today than ever before

5 years ago I made this piece of rats wearing masks, patiently waiting for something to happen. It was a protest piece on how cosmetic companies wrongfully test their products on animals, so I subverted the role-play of humans with rats. Looking back at it now during this pandemic, it reads differently to me. When I look at it now, the rats are now us, anxious, with masks on, not social distancing, but waiting for something positive to happen. It seems like this piece is more relevant now. Tell me what you think about it and how it makes you feel.

Staying creative and sane during COVID-19.

Francis Bacon, ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’, 1944

Most of us have never experienced anything like this before, and it’s pretty surreal. It feels like a Black Mirror episode, mixed with the films of Groundhog Day and the Truman Show all blended into one big, dystopian shitshow. Repetition of going to the kitchen seems tedious, not having a haircut for months felt liberating, and the fact of finally seeing someone familiar that you haven’t seen in a while has become a treat, while not seeing others has been a blessing. The whole bubble of forcing many of us to re-evaluate our lives, and what we took for granted before has become a daily mirror. But that’s a good thing, right? 

Like everyone in 2020, there have been certain things that I miss like going to concerts, the cinema, and of course going to art galleries and seeing new exhibitions. It hasn’t been an easy ride for us, and winter is something no one is looking forward to.

The Garrick Arms - Stay Strong

The advantages of going to a gallery/museum during a pandemic

I went to Tate Modern recently, just because I miss going to art galleries and because I just wanted to see their permanent collection (for the 43rd time - I’m guessing). It sucked because of Covid-19 and the lack of the spontaneity of just popping into a gallery whenever I feel like it, now it’s all pre-booking with a timeslot ticket in advanced stuff. On the other hand, the advantage was that there were hardly any queues, not so many people, barely any tourists, and children were almost absent. On the whole, it was inspiring as I could breathe and have space (maybe social distancing is a good thing after all, especially in London).  

When I got to the room of Francis Bacon’s ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’, I started to question why mental health has been considered a weakness for so long. Despite him being a post-war artist, Francis Bacon who was self-taught took on the human psyche and used his mental health issues as a tool to paint some of the most haunting, yet honest paintings of the human condition. I am glad mental health is being spoken about more in today's world, but this needs to obviously be further addressed and understood.

Francis Bacon, ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’, 1944

The gift and curse of COVID-19 for artists 

One of the few positive things about all of this is the artwork coming out, I've seen some cool stuff by artists emerging online and in the streets. It has formed a creative window for everyone to come up with something from nothing, into something special. This period of solitude time has almost forced many people to get ‘in tune’ with their creative sides and allowed more of the ‘me time’ back into people’s lives. The gift for the artist is that solitude rewards the artist with new artwork, the drawback is that there is a lack of opportunities for exhibitions, to sell and show, as well as visiting other artists.

Patrick Heron

‘Yellow Painting : October 1958 May/June 1959’

The Plague

When I read Albert Camus’s book, ‘The Plague’ over ten years ago, I remembered how he used the metaphor of the walking people already dead from their spiritual side, and who barely existed by just working for business sake, and being distracted by the mundane things in life to get by in order to preoccupy themselves from the dread of facing themselves... 

"The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their chief interest is commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, 'doing business.'"

 

This was written in 1947 but yet feels so relevant to now with how many people around the world are obsessed with obtaining wealth and greed and being distracted from facing anything but their own souls. This is the plague that I think Camus was trying to say, that by not facing your own soul and responsibility of your own existence, becomes the death; the plague.   

 

I keep telling Camus’s concept to myself as I feel that I am becoming a real day sleeper and just existing for society’s sake. I'm starting to make more art and am thinking more creative and clearer. It’s all still progress, but I hope I don’t fall back into the plague once the plague has ended. 

 

Be safe and stay alive (spiritually and physically) 

 

Yours truly, 

New artwork! - ‘Who controls who?’

‘who controls who?’, 29.7 x 42.0cm, pen and ink on 230g akvarel paper, 2020

new work! - 'Survival of the Fittest'

‘Survival of the Fittest’,

29.7 x 42.0cm, watercolour on 230g akvarel paper,

2020

'It's not just black and white' group exhibition - curated by Natasha Clarke @ The Water House Railway Institute, York

You’ve been invited to the exhibition ‘It’s Not Just Black and White’ taking place at The Water House Railway Institute on Friday the 17th January 6.pm-9.pm

The show investigates themes of being biracial and multi-ethnic in a society that is fixed by categorisation. Our unique experiences of tethering between ethnic groups means we are often generalised to the one ethnicity we visually appear to belong to. Our stories are lost and underrepresented. Here’s a chance to build our own culture where we celebrate our uniqueness and break down stereotypes of racial identification.  

We want you to be a part of this amazing event which showcases six talented biracial artists! 

Ali Tareen, Rohini Jones, Jessica Butcher, Latifah A. Stranack, Louise Evans & Jessica Mallard  

The exhibition is curated by Natasha Clarke

We can’t wait to see you there.

The Water House Railway Institute, 

2 Queen St, York,

YO24 1AD, UK

What happened to democracy? a portrait of Vaclav Havel

why is Right-wing populism so popular today?

When I made this portrait of the ex-president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel back in early Spring 2015, the world seemed to be in a better place (even though tensions were slowly increasing). Overall, democratic leadership in western countries had a better position than in 2019: Barack Obama (the first black president of the USA) was still in power, the vote for Brexit hadn't happened yet, The Czech Republic had no oligarch as prime minister. On the other hand, Right-wing populism, and fake news was on the rise, but nobody really expected nationalism to be in such a strong position as it does in today’s world.

Who rules who?

Businesses and businessmen now dominated the political arena more than ever, controlling and turning countries into businesses and citizens into its employees.

Vaclav Havel would be a torn man in today’s political climate

I painted Vaclav Havel in a classical thinking position. He sits and stares vacantly, sad into the distance, thinking about what went wrong with democracy in today’s world. He fought his whole life for it in Czechoslovakia and was punished and imprisoned for seeking fairness. The fall of the iron curtain was a beautiful moment for freedom and human rights, and Havel was rightly so the first president of Czechoslovakia after Communism.

Looking back now, we can see how divided these countries have become and this piece for me is a mirror of not just how Havel would feel about the current state of western politics, but also how I and most people I know feel about the current state of politics. I composed Havel onto two pieces of paper, which symbolises him as a man of peace and equality, but a torn man, divided and separated from having inner and outer peace.

Today is the anniversary Vaclav Havel passed away back in 2012.

Let's remember him by not forgetting about democracy, but embracing human rights, promoting freedom of speech and exposing fake news. Not forgetting to wear short trousers :)

How to improve drawing and seeing things differently

At the beginning of my recent workshop, a student used the ‘classic sentence’: ‘I can’t draw!’. My immediate reaction was a combination of genuine confusion and bewilderment. Even though, I have heard the same words throughout the years, it is something I have always had trouble understanding.

When I hear the words: ‘ I can’t draw’, I interpret the words to be ‘I can’t breathe’. I simply find this not to be true; if someone wouldn’t be able to breathe, they simply would cease to exist. As while as someone can breathe, someone can also communicate. Either, verbally or visually. Drawing has evolved and also how we view our world. It’s just that our own creativity has been suppressed and we are afraid to making mistakes and being judged and mocked.

The true fundamentals of drawing is a matter of using perceptive intuition and expression. It is a matter of making use more of your left brain and switching to your right brain. It is a matter of making mistakes.

When we were children, we were playful, we explored and we learnt to have fun and we weren’t afraid of making mistakes. Institutions such as: Schools, family and work project a limited and rigid view on how to see the world and how to approach it, often frowning upon creativity and focusing more on logic. This is the mistake. This why you think you can’t draw. This is why your confidence in creativity has been eroded.

What to do

In order to improve on drawing, we have to think about how we see perspectives differently. I think it is important to practice using the eye as a muscle to exercise, as we would with our feet when we go jogging. It is not so much about technical skill, but more to do with how we perceive things when we look at things and how to execute it in a way that suggests an honesty.

If the sentences of ‘I can’t draw’ lingers long enough in your head, then despite what you do, the idea becomes manifested as true. Another sentence is followed with: ‘but I want to draw it how I see it’.

Most often than not, most people aspire for the presentation preference of the geometric, pragmatic, two-dimensional, structural engineering process. The concept for perceptive intuition becomes void and anything with wonky eyes and a long nose gets shunned upon by the person’s own creation or feels embarrassed if presented to others.

Avoid being an expert. Old ideas become a repetitive ritual. New methods can become a gateway for an improved you.

How to draw better

Stop labeling objects! Question, challenge and dissect the thing you want to draw. This can include drawing from multiple viewpoints, using different materials and having distance from it (hang it up - step back and look for what needs improvement)

Cezanne used to sit; analyzing and studying his subject for long periods before actually working on his pieces.

Instead of trying to draw a perfect symmetric face or to replicate the subject, think about what you are actually seeing in front of you as opposed to what comes from memory and what you think it should look like. Consider using your pencil as a measuring instrument. Pick the subject up if it’s small or walk around it - see it from a different angle. Get close to the subject. The more you research and try to understand the subject, the easier it will be to translate it from your eyes and hands to the paper or canvas.

Feel confident in what you know and understand the best you can about the subject. That will make you better, if not great at drawing.

Ali Tareen Creative workshops in Prague

A fun and enjoyable time being back in the studio in Letna, Prague. With 8 new students from America and Canada on an art break retreat. Even though we could all speak in the same language and understand one another, what I pleasantly encountered was the sheer diversity and dynamic creativity that came through in their visual language and what resulted in their final outcomes. Collectively, it worked well; the group shared ideas and I encouraged them to give feedback in every session. In terms of individualistically, it was evident that there were moments of fun and enjoyment, hence the wonderful work that came out of the workshops.  I feel that a true sense of fun and enjoyment, whilst being creative is strongly missing in all realms throughout our current society and I believe we should all embrace it a bit more. 

Thank you to everyone who participated and a big thank you to Richard, Doug and Klara! 

Stay creative! 😉