SLEEP AWAY LIFE

” Often reduced to the two dimensions of paper or canvas, art has the capacity to transport us into all dimensions, not only the third with volume, but well beyond, the fourth, the fifth, and even more if you like. That’s what young Moroccan artist Ziyad El Mansouri is proposing.
Neither figurative nor abstract, in the blink of an eye he takes us into a parallel world that is both disturbing and fascinating, the world of our fears, our demons and our hallucinations. A kind of invisible world suddenly opens up to view, where the sun goes down, the body becomes emaciated, and the real world loses its reassuring envelope to reveal itself as it really is: raw, sharp and cold.

Ziyad’s brushes, pencils and pastels are like penknives, slicing through appearances to reveal what lies behind them. Few artists have this ability to look squarely at the reality we’ve all repressed in the depths of our subconscious, which makes him, despite his young age, an heir to the likes of Bosh, Bacon, Munch or Goya.

A visit to the exhibition is like a journey into the depths of our unconscious, which we discover in all its complexity, and – this is undoubtedly his greatest talent – tame. All of a sudden, looking these raw beings, menacing objects and dark landscapes in the face makes them much less disturbing. This is because the artist also knows how to achieve nuance. Optimism, gentleness and cheerfulness are not absent, and it’s certainly the latter that visitors take away with them. Therapy in a nutshell!

Nabil Bayahya
Founder B.ART Gallery

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