Engagement

Engagement is a mixed media artwork produced by Qatari artist Yousef Ahmad in the late 1990s, a decade in which his career was rife with experimentation. Inspired by the Iraqi artist Shakir Hassan Al Saïd (1925–2004), who developed the One Dimension philosophy, Ahmad created this piece as a means of expressing how to work beyond the limitations of the canvas base. In this work, we see an unusual combination of materials, such as paper, linen, burnt wood and rope.

Engagement’s colour palette is one influenced by the local desertscapes of Qatar, starting with the sand-coloured base composed of calligraphic impressions. Variance is introduced through the layers of deep brown, black, touches of beige and the slightest hint of orange that form the artwork’s central abstract composition. Overall, there is a sculpture-like feel to the artwork which stems from its treatment of the canvas as a basis for what lies beyond its confines.