THE PAINTINGS OF Mohammad al Jaloos may be abstract, but they give clear and concrete expression for his passion for love and women.

‘Love is key to setting the artist’s soul free and giving it full rein to touch the sky says Jaloos. ‘This fresh love does not recognize exhaustion or peace and transports the artist into a state of true creativity.’

‘Love encourages the artist to use his tools in a way that reflects his feelings and his strong passion for life and fate,’ Jaloos told participants in a meeting of the Jordan branch of SIGI (Sisterhood Is Global Institute), an international women’s right organization. Jaloos was the invited speaker at SIGI’s regular meeting in the lead up to his September 12 – October 4 solo exhibition at the French. Cultural Center

Jaloos said that the existence of a romantic woman in one’s life created a huge surge of creativity by penetrating into the man’s being and imposing her rhythm on his sketches and brush strokes.

The presence of women in any artistic work revolves around three foci, Jaloos said: ‘the intrinsic female, the rebellious female and the physical model.’

The painter said each category had its own characteristics and personification. ‘The first kind represents ma’s love and desire for life, but it undermines his will to create life.’

The second category, he said, represented the woman fighting for freedom from slavery, the freedom of her country and her society.

Jaloos said the final category, in which the woman’s body was used as a basis for learning the art of painting, was purely academic. However, he added that this kind of art alienated human values and spiritual existence of a woman from her body.

The artist said memory and academic education played a role in his works. But ‘my mother reflects my first experience with women, especially as she was my first supporter,’ he added.

Jaloos’ artistic experiences with women began with drawing lessons with female models. He then moved on to the concept of woman who defended the land and fought Zionism during the Palestinian Intifada.

Then came his first love, who left a deep impression on the painter’s works as represented in his love of ‘the girl next door’.

‘In this love story, I started to feel the real presence of women in my work,’ he said, adding ‘I became a dancing lover who drew his dancing steps in lines, flying with colors and spreading details here and there on the white page.’

But the real intrinsic female he found in his wife Amneh, who he said represented beauty, sensitivity and tenderness. ‘This woman gave me faith in my work and encouragement in my days of depression,’ he said.

Or as he said, love became the king of the artist’s soul, giving him strength to move forward and providing him with new reason to carry on.

By ANAN NASEREDDIN

Arab Daily September 15, 1999