Hamad Khalaf

Studies: Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Marketing- Schiller University Paris – France

Play TV-Interview (YouTube, 1:08min)

Special assignment:
2004 Member of Jury for Artiade – Olympics of visual arts.

One could scarcely imagine a more unusual or interesting canvas than abandoned military articles. Hamad Khalaf, a young Kuwaiti artist, developed over the years a very unique and innovative conceptual expression of art. Collecting abandoned military objects left behind after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Hamad paints in the traditional style adopted by the ancient Greeks to decorate their pottery. Using mainly military helmets, he paints mythological Greek figures such as Achilles, the Minotaur, Oedipus, Hermes and Medusa in vivid red against a black background, while applying the same traditional Greek technique.

Greek Mythology has been a leitmotif in the bulk of Hamad’s of work. Enjoying associating ancient mythology with contemporary political events, he in turn connects situations that are separated in time by centuries. His interests lie in the “reality & historical context connected to the military objects.” The painted Greek figures play an important role as substitutions for the tragic reality carried by the original military objects. Any viewer of these pieces is left to contemplate the tragic object which Hamad has turned into a piece of art: a very metaphorical process.

Hamad in his own words explains:
“My concept is to compare current political issues to situations from ancient Greek Mythology (i.e.: The invasion of Kuwait to the adventure of Jason and the Argonauts). I do the same with social topics such as racism, etc. An example of this is my extensive work on the Minotaur, whom I consider the biggest scapegoat in mythology.”

Hamad Khalaf, a self-taught artist, was only 20 years of age when he began to work on a series titled “The Enemy revisited”. His first show took place in 1995 at the Centre Culturel Francais (CCF) in Kuwait. And in 1998, having aroused enough interest, he held a one man-show at the UNESCO HQ in Paris. Since 1995, Hamad has been presenting his numerous works in solo exhibitions in France, Singapore, Belgium, Italy and Kuwait. He has also participated in several group exhibitions, such as “Artiade – Olympics Visual Arts” in the United States and recently in Athens – Greece.

Now based in Bali, Hamad Khalaf is actively working on not only painted military objects but also nude paintings, a terrorist rubble collage, mixed media, installation, and wearable art (painted caftans).

Further details and upcomming shows: www.hamadkhalaf.com