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Mahmoud Shaker is a Kuwaiti author and emerging artist. He stared writing at the age of 13 and has since then published six novels. His creative sensibility and need for expression lead him into the field of visual arts, where his thoughts and ideas found a place to grow and transform into entities that extended beyond the written word. In his first exhibition he explores the feeling of loneliness, an emotional state experienced by many and often endured in silence.
When encountering loneliness, it manifests not only as a state of mind but is also felt with physical intensity. To be lonely is to constantly feel alienated, disconnected, detached and unable to relate to or be understood by others. It’s finding yourself in the shadows of an empty space, surrounded by people without feeling their presence, and getting lost in your own mind with only darkness to keep you standing still. It is this aspect of loneliness that Shaker mentions in his work, translating and exposing the inner thoughts and emotions of feeling isolated. He does this by using different mediums and by transforming the space in a way that is evocative of these feelings, taking us into the mind to reveal fragments of its inner workings.
Shaker brings to light an issue usually concealed and commonly seen as shameful. This obscurity hinders growth of any kind, and its avoidance only produces further strain and creates greater distances. If addressed, we can find that reasons for being in this situation can arise from questions and uncertainty regarding self and society. It can instead be taken as an opportunity to discover and transform aspects within ourselves to reach self-acceptance, emotional maturity, insight, and a renewed ability to relate to others. Hussain begins with a release of thoughts revolving around loneliness, searching for a deeper understanding of his identity and proposes this as a basis for further development and awareness.