Painters speak (III), Taufiq al-Ansi.

The artistic scene in Sana’a: 
In this occasion The Yemen Observer interviews painter Taufiq al-Ansi whose work goes from very abstract paintings were one can intuitively perceive Sana’a, its inhabitants and its architecture, to oil paintings that retract Sana’ani people almost as if it were a picture. Al-Ansi’s work has been exhibited in several countries of the region, among them Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This young and promising artist quit school to paint and for the past five years his life has been completely dedicated to his art. His work is permanently exhibited at his atelier in Sheraton Street and at Bab al-Yemen Gallery.

Yemen Observer (YO): -Your work is extremely rich in colors and in its abstract expression, what do you wish to transmit through it? 
Taufiq Al-Ansi (TAA): -Through my paintings I speak about my feelings and about people, about Yemenis in general. I try to express some of the needs of Yemeni society, its problems, issues that Yemeni artists care for, but I also speak my own sufferings. I try to handle these problems through my art. When I say this, I refer to problems related to future hopes, things we all can wish for. In general, I try to bring what I have inside myself to the outside world. I try to use modern techniques, identify them and use them, to then show them to the people. I admit that sometimes I am not completely aware of what I express but above all I try to express sufferings that anyone can feel. 

YO: -What are the problems you see in Yemeni society and that you try to express through your pieces?
TAA: -Yemenis, most of them, do not understand the art I do. They do not enjoy it, they do not feel it inside themselves. This is the problem with abstract paintings. I am interested in making people feel what I paint but the modernity of my paintings is not well understood. People want the picture, the realistic work, what portrays them and their city, but not things that need people to think further than that, abstract work I mean. Another problem is that you cannot talk about absolutely everything through your paintings. For instance, in some paintings I talk about women but not directly, and in this case I cannot show this due to Yemeni culture. 

YO: -Why?
TAA: -Because there is no appreciation for this and is not accepted. Art is not well accepted. 

YO: -But at the same time art is very important to Yemen. Just looking at the architecture, the work done in the entire city, the infinite details…
TAA: -This is true but the problem comes when we talk about abstract art. Modernity in art has no place in Yemen. The artist is not appreciated in Yemen. 

YO: The majority of your work, is it abstract or realistic?
TAA: -Personally I prefer abstract work but people want things they can understand. I have to work on tourist art because I have no other job and I need to make my living, so the majority of my work is based on portrayals, but I prefer my abstract work. For this reason I try to go outside Yemen, to explore this interest better. 

YO: -What are your sources of inspiration?
TAA: -Women and my personal experiences. Things I went through, experiences that serve me to learn and that I use as sources of inspiration. 

YO: -When you draw women, what do you see in them?
TAA: -I see the history of Yemen, our heritage, our traditions. But it is difficult to draw women because we cannot use models and I have to base my work in the pictures I take, which can also cause problems. I try to relate the abstract paintings to Yemeni women or Yemeni culture, so in some paintings there is always something that refers to Yemeni women, to the city, or to our culture, but is not explicit. 

YO: -When and how did you start painting?
TAA: -When I was in primary school I started to be interested in painting and actually I became so interested in this that I quit school to paint. Five years ago I became a professional in the artistic scene in Sana’a and now I only work on my paintings and my artistic projects. I have my own gallery in Sheraton Street and I also expose my work at two other galleries in the old city of Sana’a.  

YO: -What evolution have you seen in the situation of artists in Yemen? TAA: -I am happy that I devoted my life to art, but is not an easy path. Due to financial problems I had to paint things which are not really what I want to work on, but I hope in the future I will be able to focus only in what I like. I think artists face many problems because we are just not recognized here, but I hope the situation will get better. 

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