AN ARTIST WHO FOUND INSPIRATION FROM A MUSICIAN AND NOW BRINGS RHYTHM TO THE CANVAS, AHMED AL JUFAIRI IS A NAME WELL KNOWN ON THE QATARI ART SCENE. AFTER DISPLAYING HIS WORK IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, HE COMES BACK TO HIS ROOTS; SHINING LIGHT ON THE FAMILY TALENT, JUFAIRI IS CURRENTLY EXHIBITING QATAR’S FIRST MOTHER-SON ART EXHIBITION, THE PERFECT DUET, AND FACT’S ANUSHAY TAIMUR KHAN CAUGHT UP WITH HIM TO GET ALL THE DETAILS…

Hi Ahmed! It’s funny, but we initially discovered you through our mutual love for Beyoncé. How has she inspired you over the years and evolved you as an artist?
Many artists claim to be inspired by museums or previous significant fine artists throughout history; some are even inspired by contemporary fine artists. I am inspired by all the list I mentioned but am mostly inspired by Beyoncé since the age of 13. There is something about her work ethic and creative process that I found alluring since a very young age, knowing for a fact that we had a strange spiritual artistic connection, it never ended and I doubt it ever will.

What drove you to become an artist?
It was not an inspiration but rather an inherited bloodline of artists, my mother is an artist and so is my grandfather. My mother claims that at the age of two, I was drawing out figures, I was barely able to walk or speak but was able to hold a pencil and draw figures.

Which is your favourite piece from your entire body of work?
I do not want to specify a specific piece to be claimed my favorite, each piece tells a powerful story and each art piece holds a significant part in my story and journey as an artist.

Tell us about your latest work and how the idea to exhibit with your mother came into being…
My latest work was inspired by a character I have created a few years ago named JAM, a figure wearing half Abaya and half Thob which signifies the equality between men and women in societies, where working together equally is stronger than pinning one against the other.
The exhibition came to mind two years ago, and funny enough I stated in few television interviews that my next show will be a duo with my mother, her story is the most empowering story any Qatari woman needs to hear, after years of attempting to have a career as an artist, she was never given the chance due to society’s restrictions on women, this did not stop her. She continued to secretly paint and create masterpieces for years, finally after years- her son pulled her out of the darkness and into a large debut exhibition, which happens to be a powerful concept of political friendship between Qatar and India.

What do you believe is a consistent element of your work?
Beyoncé.

How do you interpret art and which artists would you consider as your main motivators?
I interpret art through every single millimeter of any art piece I make, unlike some- I do not and refuse to see art as a business, it is a gift given to me by God and I am obliged to convey messages of love and hope through my work. Inspirational artists would be Van Gogh, Marc Chegall, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo and many more of the greats. I like art more from the 20th century and before because there is more handwork and heart in the work and less necessity for branding a product.

How does it feel to be representing contemporary art through various mediums and using pop as the main muse for your work?
It is difficult to say the least, people do not notice the thought process and hard work that goes into what I do, I believe that my work is too complex for this century, I hope in the next hundred years people get what I was doing. You’ve attained the Katara Solo Exhibition Award.

How can this initiative be used to encourage more artists from Qatar?
It gave me the feeling of great achievement and importance, and yes, I do believe we need more initiatives like these; artists are paid by exposure in Qatar. We are extremely underrated and underestimated, with zero effort or payment from galleries, we still continue to push through and make art to improve our nation’s mindset regarding many topics.

One thing that Ahmed, the artist, cannot survive without?
Art.

What would your message be for the aspiring artists that look up to you?
Push through and stick with exactly the thing that everyone tells you to stop doing, ignore anyone that says you are too lazy, dreamy, childish, unpolished or any negative connotation when it comes to you as an aspiring artist, the simple fact that you have decided to want to become an artist, you are now considered a hero of the universe and do not forget it. ✤

GO: THE ‘PERFECT DUET’ WILL BE ON SHOWCASE UNTIL AUGUST 27 AT ART29 – LOCATED ON THE 29TH FLOOR AT THE W DOHA HOTEL. THE ART EXHIBITION WILL BE OPEN FROM 10AM TO 10PM.