{"id":25740,"date":"2023-04-02T08:12:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T06:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/?p=25740"},"modified":"2023-04-02T08:23:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T06:23:52","slug":"doha-street-artist-mubarak-al-maliks-fabulous-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/doha-street-artist-mubarak-al-maliks-fabulous-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Doha Street Artist Mubarak Al-Malik’s Fabulous Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Christina Paschyn<\/h4>\n

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On a wall outside Qatar Academy in Doha, a young woman with piercing eyes stares out from behind a pointed mask. She is wearing a batoola<\/em>: a face-covering similar to the niqab, but less concealing. It is made of leather or cloth with a central strip that runs down the nose and ends in a flared tip. For centuries, women in the Gulf wore variations of the batoola<\/em>, said to mimic a falcon\u2019s beak. But today, few young Qatari women don them. The tradition lives on, however, in the vivid graffiti murals of Mubarak Al-Malik.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe batoola <\/em>represents culture, traditions, and home,\u201d the 35-year-old Qatari street artist explained in an interview with TMR, adding that his grandmother was his muse.<\/p>\n

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Al-Malik in full garb before his “Challenge” mural. Created in 2017 at the Doha Fire Station, it represents the strength of Qatar\u2019s citizens and residents during the GCC diplomatic blockade against the country. The artwork was commissioned by Qatar Museums (photo Christina Paschyn).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy grandmother, who used to live with me, wore the batoola,<\/em> and seeing it every day made me want to represent it in my work as a personal homage to her. I also wanted to incorporate an original representation of Qatari people in my works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Malik\u2019s grandmother passed away three years ago, but he continues to promote her legacy through street art. His art is displayed throughout Qatar, including outside several stadiums built for the 2022 World Cup, and now even beyond.<\/p>\n

Indeed, in 2021, Al-Malik collaborated with Qatar Museums\u2019 JedariArt program to bring his signature motif to the Wynwood district of Miami, Florida, where he created a mural of a batoola<\/em>-wearing woman guiding a dhow ship toward the Miami shoreline. As Middle Eastern and Muslim clothing, particularly women\u2019s facial coverings, are often ridiculed and politicized by Americans and Europeans, Al-Malik worried the city\u2019s residents would reject his art. But his apprehension faded when the piece was unveiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked a lot with the people there, and I explained to them our traditions and about Qatar. And they listened. It wasn’t what I was expecting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the unexpected best describes Al-Malik\u2019s artistic trajectory. His uncle is Salman Al-Malik, a renowned abstract artist, and when Al-Malik first began exploring painting as a teenager, his uncle\u2019s style inspired him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would bring over my paintings to show him,\u201d Al-Malik recounted. \u201cHe was very helpful and would always take the time to offer advice on color, technique, and materials. He frequently bought me paints and canvases.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a while, he followed in his uncle\u2019s footsteps, exhibiting canvases and sculptures in local galleries. But travels to Europe and the United States in 2010 drew his attention to graffiti art, sparking a desire to explore the alternative medium. When he returned home, he taught himself the art of graffiti by watching spray-painting tutorials on YouTube. His parents even designated an entire wall inside the house on which he could practice. Then, when he had polished his technique behind closed doors, he did what many graffiti artists do: he took to the streets \u2014 illegally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spray-painted at midnight, usually on Friday mornings. There was one rule I had for myself, and that was I would not spray-paint new or in-use buildings,\u201d Al-Malik explained. \u201cSo, I went around looking for damaged and abandoned ones and proceeded to make them beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the precautions, he still got caught. But just as in Miami, the response was unexpected: \u201cThe police caught me three times, but when they saw that all I was doing was creating art, they let me go. They liked it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of Qatar has seconded that sentiment. Al-Malik\u2019s work is applauded on social media, and cultural and art institutions, such as the Katara Cultural Village and Doha Fire Station, invite him to spray-paint in their spaces. Al-Malik said he hasn\u2019t experienced backlash, either for his art medium or content.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people, even government guests, have commissioned my work,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I go outside to any wall, I take my time and put a lot of thought into what I am going to produce. I inject a lot of love into any work going onto the wall so that, in turn, the people will love it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n