The door closes behind the hurried footsteps of people who leave for the night and you are left alone. In this silence, your mind wanders into the corners you rarely see. You start considering all those unanswered questions. Why we are here? Where will we go?
That’s what I think about when I look at the work of Ahmed Awad, a 22-year-old Egyptian illustrator who describes his work as trying to express that which can’t be said with words. His drawings feature outlines, skeletons, or bodies, that seem to exist in a separate universe, tucked away in space. Whether alone or with a companion, their faces placid or resting against each other, they roam space surrounded by stars.
Sometimes he takes it a step further by incorporating surrealist elements in small doses. A woman nestling her face inside a man’s chest, fusing both of their bodies.
When described, the images might sound gruesome. But perhaps that’s the reason why Awad prefers to let his work speak for itself. His images of skeletons and perforated chests are not violent, instead, they fortify the feeling of peaceful and quiet meditation that dominates his illustrations.
To show the deep connections that exist between his characters, he makes use of a variety of tools. Bodies lie entangled, faces disappear as lips touch each other, as hearts bleed through openings that resemble mouths that kiss.
Elements of the outside world are incorporated to further solidify the relationship between those portrayed in the images. Earphones plug into the hearts of the other.
Liquid light flows from the eyes of a man into the eyes of a woman. The mercurial glow makes its way down into her chest, projecting colors into their faces as they hold each other close.
The artist’s sensitivity allows him to portray love’s melancholic moments, when two people disconnect from the world and retreat into each other. When I look at this image I imagine water rising around us, drowning out all sound, warm water that acts like a protective cocoon, a safe embrace where you can peacefully drown.
Awad’s work vibrates with its use of cosmic imagery and lovers embracing. Stars cover or surround his subjects with neon colors that take us far away from this world. His eyes penetrate into the minds of his characters, revealing a peaceful universe that stretches out into the horizon while they share a quiet moment together.
Ahmed Awad’s illustrations moved me deeply, he captured instants I’ve experienced, when a second feels like an eternity and everything else disappears slowly around me and the one I love.
If you like Ahmed Awad’s work, visit his Instagram profile.
If you like his work, check out this illustrator’s drawings that mock the concept that time heals all wounds, and drawings of some of your deepest fantasies.
Sources:
Caracteres
Patreon
