Exhibition brings together 5 female artists

AMMAN — The Orient Gallery opened its doors on Tuesday to a group art exhibition titled “The Concept”, allowing visitors to explore collections of artworks by five Jordanian female artists. 

Running until August 31, the exhibition displays the works of Nisreen Haddadin, Mahan Abu Samaan, Zeina Saket, Mays Dweiri and Ruba Abu Shousheh. 

Haddadin noted that art is “an expression of personal reflections and a way to clarify the mind”.

“It’s a way for me to arrive at inner peace, as I am my truest and most authentic self in front of my painting,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Abu Samaan uses pointillism in her artworks, a form of painting that involves applying small dots on a canvas to create a larger image.

“I used this technique to express freedom and movement from one stage to another,” she told the Jordan Times.

Abu Sammaan also noted that she prefers leaving the interpretation of her work to the viewer. 

“I like to have people explore the artwork and dig deep within themselves to arrive at its meaning and enjoy its beauty,” she said. 

Saket, whose work also focuses on abstract art, used mirror-itching and layering with gold leaf and metal in her displayed artworks.

Her collection, titled “The Alchemy of the Heart”, was inspired by a verse for Hafez Al Shirazi, which reads: “My heart is the mirror of majesty covered with dust”, she told The Jordan Times.

“In my work, I’m playing with the Arabic word “Qalb” which can either mean heart or inversion,” Saket added. 

She said that much like a mirror, the heart inverts or reflects whatever it takes in and “sometimes you need to dust off or polish your heart to see clearer so whatever you perceive comes from within you”. 

“I like how people can literally see themselves in my work, because it’s made up of actual mirrors,” Saket continued.  

Dweiri’s collection shows the different states of the heart, capturing three moments from an interaction between a figure and a mass in a surrealistic setting. 

“I draw because I need to and I have to,” she said, noting that art is a “creative” tool for self-expression.

“I can’t always use words to say what I want to say, but I can use art to show what I want to say,” Dweiri said.