Love in the Time of Zaman
‘Love Secrets’ collection. Using various materials, Saudi artist Zaman Jassim focuses his light on the secrets of love without mentioning a single secret. “If a secret is mentioned, it loses its meaning and worth.’
With over 30 years as an artist, Zaman Jassim fully embodies love in his art and his life. When asked what love means to him, Zaman reflected on the omnipotence of love. “I wrote on one of my paintings, ‘Love is Life/Life is Love.’ If you reverse these two words, you will get a more beautiful and deeper meaning.” Zaman inspires us to see the beauty in life and to implement love into our lives as much as possible. Having grown up in an artistic family and surrounded by Tarout Island’s beautiful surroundings, expressing himself through art came naturally. “I did not choose art,” Zaman says, “it chose me.” In Zaman’s art world, love trickles through his work
giving us a chance to embrace and include love and light into our lives. He believes the medium must be filled with feelings and understanding of the common language of others; that love is a necessity and a way of life in understanding each other. With love being one of the most romantic topics in life, it carries a sense of belonging and purpose in every soul. As our world advances in technology, education and resources, the younger generation is rewriting their own definition of love. Zaman offers his advice on how to work with love: “Love what you do until you do what you love,” he says. “Every successful thing is based on love and passion. This is the ladder to
Love on the ‘Saj’. A unique take by Saudi artist Zaman Jassim on the close relationship between the art of cooking and love, whereby the Saj is like clay, imprinted with vows of love. The love that goes into making a beloved dish can turn into a nightmare if cooked for too long or under too hot a temperature, burning it and ruining it, like a love loved too much.
success. What you do with love will be more profound and accessible to others and the result will definitely reflect on you with joy.” “We are currently living in a thriving period in all fields,” Zaman reflects on the state of art in Saudi today compared to when he began his career. “The conscious artist must put his mark and flourish as an artist because this stage will make the difference to the future of art transformation in Saudi. There is a broader openness not only in Saudi, but also in the world
due to technology and the speed o communication, especially in social media and knowledge. Artists no longer have to wait to express their experience and feelings in a gallery or send it via mail. It takes just a click of a button to share it with the world.” As our world turned upside down and everyone stayed inside during the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists and creative souls found refuge in social media as a platform to express themselves artistically, share and interact.
The ‘Love Moon’ collection where single powerful words of love (Wid ‘fondness’ & Shaghaf ‘passion’) are expressed in the form of a crescent moon by Saudi artist Zaman Jassim.
Calligraphic homage to Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss,’ by Saudi artist Zaman Jassim.
The ‘Love Moon’ collection where single powerful words of love (Wid ‘fondness’ & Shaghaf ‘passion’) are expressed in the form of a crescent moon by Saudi artist Zaman Jassim.
