Mixes reality with imagination.. Iraqi hairdresser paints paintings from the remains of his clients’ hair
Faleh broke the rule of creativity and innovation, and was able, through his innate art, to form paintings that differ from the ordinary
May Rabiei
5/7/2021
BAGHDAD — Without any brushes or paint, and on the floor of his small shop in one of Baghdad’s neighborhoods, Hussein Faleh, a men’s hairdresser, paints wonderful paintings using the remains of his clients’ hair.
Faleh tells Al Jazeera Net that he loves drawing since his childhood, where he used to draw using paper and pen, and because of his love for excellence until he reached his unique method in his drawings. Using the remains of the customers’ hair encouraged him to continue his innovative approach, especially since — as he says — he has a talent that makes him turn the simplest things into paintings, from the remains of hair to coffee beans and fruits.
Faleh continues his speech that he does not belong to any of the contemporary drawing schools, as he is a free and innovative artist, yet he does not deny his influence by the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci and considers him a source of inspiration.
When asked about the most interesting drawings, he replied that “painting with rashi (tahini) and date honey, despite their difficulty and the required focus in them because they are liquid materials, yet drawing with them remains his favorite”.
In memory of the international basketball player Kobe Bryant, who died early last year as a result of the crash of the helicopter he was on board, Faleh executed the biggest drawing of poetry on a basketball court on an area of 28 x 15 meters, where the work took him a whole month.
Reality and Fiction
Nidal Elia, who specializes in fine arts and painting, says that it is dazzling to see a painter from Iraq presenting his paintings in a new and distinct style, using hair as basic material. This prompted her to contemplate his paintings in which he mixed reality with imagination to give pictures as if they were real, making the viewer live with his paintings and pictures of imagination intertwined with reality.
Faleh is currently preparing to hold his first exhibition, which will include a large group of his drawings, by pasting hair using a secret material of his creation, he hopes that the exhibition will have a wide resonance on the local and international levels.
The 16th-century Italian artist, Ghospi Artemboldo, was the first to paint faces using meat, fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and then transfer them onto canvas.
As for Faleh, he relies on the remains of hair as basic material, but he does not paint international paintings and portraits but rather relies on his fertile imagination in drawing temporary paintings that quickly disappear after he takes pictures of them.
Break the rule
Painter and art critic Amer Al-Jazia told Al-Jazeera Net that Faleh broke the rule of creativity and innovation, and was able through his innate art to form paintings that differ from the ordinary, whether in oil colors, charcoal drawings, or watercolors, as he adapts simple things and turns them into wonderful art.
Al-Jazia continues that regardless of the fact that Artemboldo, for example, paints and sculpts with food and fruits, his works remain familiar. As for using hair and turning it into paintings, this is new. He adds that “Faleh is a renewed artist who possesses a lot of artistic sense, and he painted himself a special color in artistic circles locally and internationally.”
Source: Al Jazeera(Original Content -Arabic)
