angry sea_50x60cm_Oil on canvasboard_ 2024_Ohne frame
Ahoo Maher in her Studio
Einatmen_30x40cm_Oil on canvas board_2023_ohne frame
Deep Memories_30cm_Oil on canvas_2023_Ohne frame
drops_35cm_Oil on canvas board_2024_PNG
Leopard_50cm_oil on canvas_2024_PNG
Forever_15x30cm_Acrylic on board_2023
In deep water_30x23cm_Oil on canvas_2023
Just Imagine … 35x35cm Oil on canvas board 2023
Hold your Breath_40x30cm_Oil on canvas_2023
Mermaid_43x43cm_Oil on canvas_2023
Granny_30x40cm_oil on canvas_2024
left alone_50x50cm_oil on canvas_2024_Ohne Frame
Lost generation_40x40cm_Oil on canvas_2023
Nikko_10x30cm_Oil on canvas board_2024_ohne frame
shadows like a fallen moon_40cm_oil on canvas board_2023
The summer Day_40cm_Mixed media on canvas board_2023
This time all together_105x70cm_Oil on canvas_2024_ohne frame
Ist mir egal_110x150cm_Oil on canvas_2024
run baby run_ 50x70cm_Oil on canvas_2024
schlapfen_100x120cm_Oil on canvas_2024
very loud Silence_30x40cm_Oil on canvaspaper_2023
You..._30x30cm_Oil on Board_2024_Ohne frame
Blue shades – Underwater
the body becomes light and the soul becomes heavy
At the moment of submersion, perception changes. Sounds are muffled, smells are subdued and vision becomes blurred as the body enters a state of uncontrolled floating. The act of submerging obscures a person’s visibility. The surface of the water forms an almost invisible boundary that is easier to break from above than from below.
Intense shades of blue envelop the bodies of the figures depicted. Their bodies defy social norms: because of their skin colour, shape, gender identity or political beliefs, they do not conform to the majority ideal. The artist compares the feeling of being underwater with the feeling of belonging to a minority. Being underwater is then not a freedom achieved, but rather a restriction of movement and well-being within one’s own body. Submerged, vision is distorted and the ground is lost beneath one’s feet. A single breath can lead to swallowing too much water, leaving no air to breathe. The body becomes tired from the constant struggle.
As diverse as the realities of life and as different as the individual works are, there are similarities. They show similar motifs, which are also similar in form: the perspective is slightly distorted and the two-dimensional painting of the figures emphasises the impression of being underwater. The bodies float in finite and infinite quantities of water, the boundaries of which are partly visible and partly invisible.
In the interplay between painting and installation, new spaces of imagination emerge that convey a small part of the feeling of being underwater. Water becomes a metaphor for social notions of majority and belonging. The body becomes a medium of negotiation; social values are projected onto it and battles are fought on it.
Ahoo Maher recounts experiences that invite us to listen. Her paintings deal with social-political issues such as visibility, belonging and norms. The paintings invite us to dive into a pool of experiences, emotions and realities, encouraging the viewers to find their own stories or to be more attentive to the stories of others.
a Text by Jana Schuller-Frank