The evening when Ahmed Amer “inked” his imagination

It was at the end of December, a rainy night, a Beirut palace, a warm light that attracted an emotion-starved crowd like a flock of fireflies. The creator Ahmed Amer, with his hands – both hands – and sometimes armed with telescopic brushes, spread on the walls and the large marble floor of the old Bustros house, which currently houses the “Art Affair” space, the immediate product of his daydreams.

The fashion designer, who came from illustration, has always relied on clothing as a vehicle for messages, a walking dazibao at the crossroads of living art and the manifesto. That evening, while with her penetrating voice, Maïssa Jallad sang excerpts from her new album The Battle of the HotelsAhmed Amer traced live, in Indian ink, these intriguing scribbles in a continuous line in the style of Cocteau, which are his signature. On the recycled, fragile, yellowed paper that he had spread on the floor and on the walls, worried faces, crowds, and confused constructions took shape, revealing as they appeared the product of the visions that came to him.

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On this surrealist approach to automatic drawing, Amer explains that “Maïssa Jallad’s narration and her haunting pieces created a perfect emotional backdrop, drawing me into a state of improvisation and fluidity. The large canvas became at home both my stage and my refuge, as I physically immersed myself in it, drawing, moving and connecting to the music. The act of sinking my body into the immense canvas was deeply satisfying, an experience. visceral fusion with art itself.

As the crowd of spectators became more compact, we saw the artist launch into his performance without a plan, without a defined starting point, without a structured sequence. “I deliberately embraced discomfort and uncertainty, challenging myself to adapt and create in the moment. I used different mediums and unconventional techniques: I drew with both hands simultaneously, used long sticks and brushes, worked so close to the canvas that I couldn’t step back to get a full view. “together,” he explains.

Through this process, the concept emerged organically. Themes of connection, resilience and chaos took shape in the black strokes – figures hugging and supporting each other, men lifting others, flowers in vases at once full and broken, empty chairs and symbols scattered randomly. “There were moments of sadness, reflections on the history of Beirut and the persistent presence of oranges, symbols of loss, resistance and hope,” also indicates the creator.

The artist in full creative process. Photo DR

This spontaneity of creation, sought as an immediate danger, was only based on a deep emotional structure. This was instantly transmitted to the audience, who were left speechless by Ahmed Amer’s performance, overwhelmed by this moment of shared vulnerability and connection. Between the flow of black ink on the fragility of the paper and the gentle fluidity of Maïssa Jallad’s voice, a story of Beirut, community, aftermath and reconstruction developed.

“It is important to embrace uncertainty, trust the process, and find comfort in the collective experience of storytelling,” says Ahmed Amer in conclusion of this experience. Dressed by the stylist in coats and jackets embroidered with his doodleshis friends showed the living beauty of clothing when it also seeks to convey meaning.