Born in Lebanon 1979, she studied Fine Arts at the Lebanese University. Migrated to Australia in 2001 where she studied Digital Media at the UNSW. She participated in a group exhibition and is currently illustrating children’s picture books and preparing her first solo exhibition in Sydney. Her daytime job is in Radio, as she continually develops her skills across painting, drawing, illustration and digital imaging.
She is working on illustrating children’s book in conjunction with the Lebanese Language Institute for Lebanese Children Living abroad. She is also giving art lessons at the Kunstler Art School.
Interview:
LR: Hi Eddie
EA: Hello
LR: You are currently exploring a new theme about working with textures, patterns and prints. Tell us a bit about that.
EA: I’ve always been interested in how a pattern or a print or a symbol is born…what it can reveal about a culture…how we see it and interpret it as viewers, each according to their own set of beliefs. A lot of the stuff I’m working on now is somehow linked to that idea, although sometimes I find that some works tend to create different paths for me to explore.
LR: Your work touches on human symbols, and assimilates them into one single whole that represents the commercial nature of our world today. Could you please elaborate on this feature in your work.
EA: I live in a very multicultural society. Most people, I find, seem to want to have a well defined identity and often have trouble doing that because of the nature of the world we live in. Some adopt symbols of a certain culture or group hoping that in doing so they would appropriate all of its properties, and be identified with it. Others hold on to what they believe to be their own heritage…what I like to watch out for is, what symbols, patterns, mannerisms…etc people use to reveal what they want their identity to be, and how they want to be seen by others. Commercialism plays on people’s ideals and notions about themselves and others. After pondering this, you start to realize how warped some “authentic” identities can be.
LR: How does this character affect your work specifically?
EA: It basically makes me stay alert and always on the lookout for ways in which this idea is manifested, and how I can express it…what materials to use, what medium best suits my purposes.
LR: Some aspects of your latest work look like collages, with different materials and such.
EA: I like using different materials…they all have different qualities that bring an extra dimension to a work. Some have a whole history attached to them that I can exploit.
LR: Your Postmodernist Fashionista: A self portrait painting seems to be an amalgamation of various elements from around the globe.
EA: In a nutshell I started off with the Palestinian “Kuffieh” being completely de-saturated from it’s meaning…then I used other symbols that have been commercialized too such as those found in Aboriginal Art. Combined in a portrait of a modern woman, I wanted to comment on the freedom we have to adopt all the symbols, causes and positions that we want and yet it often means nothing.
LR: You have also been interested in producing some children’s book with the Lebanese Language Institute, books that are written in colloquial Lebanese.
EA: I guess I’ve fallen into the trap of saving what I think is my heritage, my history…I’d like to keep a part of my identity, my “lebaneseness” alive. That’s what attracted me to the project.
LR: You have been giving art classes at Kunstler lately. Tell us a little about Kunstler. The term sounds so, “artistic” J.
EA: Kunstler is german for “artist”, it’s a good space for me and my partner/friend to work with people who have an interest in expressing themselves artistically. We basically pass on our knowledge and experiences to them and they’re free to make whatever they want of it.
LR: You have been preparing a gallery exhibition sometime soon. Tell us about that.
EA: Hopefully soon I will be satisfied that I can show what I’m working on…Everyone goes through self doubt, at the moment that can be a good title for my future exhibition!
LR: Any last words?
EA: I hope I’m not being too self indulgent but just wanted to say “Mathaf Cola Barbeer Rawche bi alf”.
LR: Thanks Eddie, keep us posted on your newest.
EA: Thank you Maroun, will do.
Eddie’s address on the web is:
You can contact Eddie at:
Email: eddieabd[[at]]hotmail[[dot]]com
Phone: (61) 2-417-255-784