Abir & Alex Art Work Because of a huge storm hitting the area, the phone connection kept falling and he wasn’t sure if his confirmation had reached Pranaya.
Alex is a very creative italian designer and for many years he created and produced garments in Bali for export, with labels such as ‘Poison Babe’ and ‘Retox’. He dedicated himself to music projects, Dj-ing in clubs and open air parties, he also paints, enjoys renovating houses and moreover, being the father now 15 year-old Dylan. Last year, while he was at a music festival in the Dolomites in Sou
th Tyrol, Alex’s friend Pranaya from Bergamo in Italy tried to call him to invite him to come to Marrakech, Morrocco. But he felt to just risk it, flew to Milan and miraculously the ticket was already there waiting for him. Arriving late at night in Marrakesh after a delayed flight at the residence of an artist he met a beautiful woman called Abir. “I was jetlagged, tired, I barely took in the crowd of 50 or 60 people, I was hungry – and she made me dinner.” A week later, at another party, Abir happened to be there again and they clicked. His plan of staying only for a short time went into the wind. Moroccan-born Abir is a freelance documentary film maker (such as ‘Parkour’), has made theatre productions and had acting roles, also on TV. Her main theme is ‘women and femininity’. She also fashion label (‘Handmade’ and ‘Abir Creation’) and co-owned fashion/art shops in Rabat and in Casablanca, where she grew up. When she met Alex she worked at a contemporary art gallery and as her contract was ending and she didn’t want to commit herself further, she pulled up stakes and came to Bali to be with him. Their love for art inspired them to work together on videos, music, and in particular making sculptures and art installations. A well-known local company (Warisan) offered them a workspace, left-over material from furniture productions and a large amount of tools - and they haven’t looked back. They mainly work with recycled wood and production-left-overs. “Typically we take a piece of wood or other material and ask ‘What can I do with it?’ - in effect talking to the piece to see what wants to be expressed.” A typical example is a piece called ‘Hand n Hand’: Looking at the frame, the idea of hands came up. They took photos of their own hands, printed them, cut out the shapes and then painted the images realistically onto the wood. Almost a dozen art works are already being shown at the gallery and they are buzzing with many more ideas. Alex said, “I don’t believe in boredom, there is so much waiting to be tapped into! We are excited to see what we can create together, following ideas and all the steps until the final product emerges. Possibilities of creation are floating in the universe, the moment you manage to channel one and let it emerge from the surface of the material it seems it had already been there. And then we work on it with charcoal, water and/or oil paint and observe how they mix by themselves. It happens for example that Abir sees something in the wood and somehow the same idea is channelled in both our brains and we can see the same image in a piece. This ‘telepathy’ is a very special gift that we both appreciate deeply, as it enables us to merge our two separate creative talents into one. So each piece is based on a spontaneous contribution of ideas.”
