Yemeni painter Sahar Hasan Al-louthai brings a taste of the homeland to Turkey

Article text Dustin Pickering

Images from the collection of Sahar Hasan Al-louthai

Yemeni-born visual artist Sahar Hasan Al-louthai is continuously on the search for new ways to display her work. Her craft involves knowledge of Yemeni culture as well as its historical circumstance. Her recent exhibition was on a ship outside of Istabul, Turkey in the Marmara Sea and the Bosphorus Strait. Al-louthai tells me that she feels a great responsibility to “present my country in the best possible way by highlighting the aesthetic and heritage aspects of Yemen as it is my first source of inspiration every time I stand in front of a white canvas.” Yemen has been a conflict zone since 2014 when civil war erupted between Abdrabbuh Mansur-Hadi forces and the armed Houthi movement. Al-louthai is inspired by Yemeni culture to present the most positive aspects of her country. She appreciates the patterns and colors of Yemeni wardrobes as well as Yemeni architectural structures, but her work mostly highlights the “psychological and behavioral characteristics” of all humans “sharing the same emotions,” in her words. This universal sense is at the heart of her artistic development.

Her subjects range from horses to figures in reflective poses. She tells me that Yemeni architecture is influenced primarily by Qamariya windows. Qamariya translates from Arabic to “windows of the moon.” These stained glass windows are found in the pavilions of Sana, the capital of Yemen. Sana is home to the world’s oldest skyscrapers, hand built with mud-brick and brown stone using intricate geometric patterns. One piece from the exhibition features a young woman in prayerful repose framed by such a window as seen in these historical structures.

Sahar Hasan Al-louthai calls this exhibition “Sailing”. She tells me that she chose this approach of showcasing her artwork because she seeks “innovative ideas in presenting my art and the message behind it whether in my solo art shows or the collective exhibitions that I curate in order to make it an exceptional experience for the audience. I wanted this show that I named ‘Sailing’ to stand out in order to produce a greater effect in carrying our voices.” Her work explores the beauty and richness of Yemen rather than enforce stereotypical ideas. She says her intention toward her audience is to “delight them with the beautiful characteristic of a country that they know little about.” In order to highlight more of Yemen’s cultural richness, Al-louthai invited Yemeni dancers to perform and had Yemeni coffee served by girls in traditional Yemeni outfits on this two floor, 31 meter cruise ship. She says she hoped “to combine the beauty of nature with the magic of art to make it a refreshing journey.”

The beauty of art is its ability to convey universal ideas and emotions. These ideas remind us that no matter where we stand in the world there are feelings held in common by all the world’s inhabitants. Art allows us to escape in worlds of beauty and by doing so we learn more about the world we inhabit. New York Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez attended the exhibition, as well as former Democratic Representative of New York’s 11^th district Max Rose. Assemblywoman Fernandez says of the experience, “There was so much that I did not know about Yemen and to see Yemen through its art I felt the love and connection to the homeland.”