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About the
Artist
Born in Wellington, attending school in Beirut and college in London, I
never had any formal training in art or photography, but always had an eye
for the beauty in this world.
After finishing my education in the UK, I lived in Austria for nearly ten
years, before returning to the Middle East. It was like returning home and
it so inspired me that I could not help but put paint to paper, and my eye
to the lens. Twenty six of my forty years away from the land of my birth,
were spent in the Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the West Bank. A deep love
and bond to the people of this region developed, which enriched me through
their culture, way of life, gentleness and deep respect for the simple
things in life.
The roller coaster of everyday life in West Bank, which swings between
elation and despair with little in between, started me translating the
emotions I felt into first sketching and taking pictures, then using water
colours.
I developed a great passion for the preservation of
the Palestinian landscape rapidly disappearing under urban sprawl, settlements, fast roads and rubbish. Remote villages hanging
onto a tenuous existence, ancient Crusader buildings, Mamalukes and Ottomans houses, the patchwork of fields
in valleys, barren hillsides striped with olive terraces, all these were gradually but surely
vanishing, and sadly the destruction continues today.
I felt a need to capture these beautiful images,
before they too were history. Villagers would ask me why I was photographing or painting the
tumbledown buildings in Beit Hanina where I lived, "what was the point", they would say, they will soon be bulldozed." The buildings were
composed of layers of stones from many periods, and with the remnants of
some fine decoration. I wanted to somehow capture this wealth of old architecture before it all disappeared, but alas, I was there too short
a time, I would have needed another life time.
The beauty of the Middle Eastern countries I lived in, will always remain with me. The still awe inspiring majesty of the Jordanian deserts, the cedars and umbrella pines of Lebanon, the snow covered mountain villages, the rivers and
waterfalls, the huge wealth of history, Petra, Balbeck, Palmyra, Jerash,
Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho, the list goes on and on and on…So much
diversity, so many peoples, so rich in art and all now fighting for
there cultural survival in an ever changing world.
I know I will always be drawn back to the lands of
my childhood, my adolescence, my first love and my early days as a mother.
Most of my teaching was done in the Middle East, but I shall always
remember all I learnt from those children of other cultures.
My first photographs to be published, were for the International Community
School in Amman, which a colour brochure on the school. Then there were
several articles with photos in the Jordan Times, The Star and the weekly
tourist and cultural magazine Jordan Today. These were articles on school
activities to make the foreign community aware of what was happening at
the school, and on bringing public awareness to the pollution damage in
Aqaba and the Red Sea as part of my voluntary work for JREDS (Jordanian
Royal Ecological Diving Society)
Winning first prize for "The Friends of
Archaeology" photography competition in Amman in 1994 encouraged me to
pursue and exhibit my works, and I was soon exhibiting frequently at "The
Gallery" in the Intercontinental Hotel in central Amman, Jordan. Subjects
ranged from architecture to portraits to underwater photography from the
Red Sea.
I also worked voluntarily with " The friends of Dana" , a picturesque
village off the Kings Highway. There was an exodus of the men, leaving to
work in the cities. Women were left to take care of themselves, and a
project was started by some expat women to keep ancient crafts alive,
reconstruct the tumbling down village and give back life to this village
on the verge of extinction. I sold my photography of the village near
Petra in Jordan and gave a percentage to help this worthy cause. Today it
is a unique tourist attraction, with rustic guest house, nature walks, and
a very attractive gift shop displaying pottery, basket ware, artwork,
organic dried fruits, olive oil etc produce all grown on the village
terraces.
My watercolours are mostly from my stay in Israel,
depicting derelict and now abandoned old houses, doorways, windows from
West Bank villages…Some of the paintings are now historical, as the homes
depicted are no longer standing.
In New Zealand, I had a solo photographic exhibition entitled "Endangered
Gems" at Ngatipa Gallery in Kerikeri, and participated in a joint
exhibition " Religious Images " there entering a few of my watercolours
and some photographs. I also entered some watercolours in the Art Upstairs
150 x 150 exhibition in Kerikeri. Works from all these exhibitions, and
some new ones, are available at Kaan Zamaan.
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