gossipers series
Gossipers in Synchrony, 2024, 138x25 cm, acrylic on raw linen
Gossip is woven into the fabric of oral culture. Passed between people through conversation, interpretation and repetition, it transforms fragments of fact and fiction into shared stories. Although often viewed negatively, gossip can also create intimacy, preserve memory and reinforce relationships within a community.
Gossipers explores this complex form of human connection through painting, sculpture and digital fabrication. The series draws on scenes of figures gathered in conversation, leaning towards and away from one another as they exchange stories, recipes, poetry and secrets.
Visually rooted in the Arab world, the figures are distinguished by their flowing abayas and the Arabic coffee cups resting in their laps. Their silhouettes are also informed by the movement and expressive profiles of Diwani calligraphy, giving each form a sense of rhythm and quiet motion.
Every Gossiper has an individual identity, yet the figures are conceived as members of a larger collective. Whether gathered closely or positioned apart, they remain connected by an invisible thread of communication.
Paintings
The Gossipers paintings developed from an ongoing series of drawings exploring gesture, proximity and conversation.
Groups of figures gather across the compositions, forming shifting arrangements of intimacy and distance. Their curved profiles and flowing garments create a visual rhythm that suggests movement, while repeated forms reflect the way stories change as they pass from one person to another.
Rather than illustrating a particular conversation, the paintings capture its atmosphere: the leaning bodies, attentive pauses and quiet murmurs of people exchanging something between them.
Sculptures
The sculptural Gossipers were first presented at Dubai Design Week in 2017 as a series of hand-formed ceramic works.
Inspired by gatherings within Arab social life, each figure carries its own name, posture and character. Textures recalling rippling sand and folded fabric move across their abayas, while small Arabic coffee cups reinforce the intimacy and familiarity of the scene.
The sculptures may appear in pairs, small groups or extended gatherings. Although each stands as an individual work, their meaning becomes more pronounced when they are placed together, where their gestures begin to suggest an unfolding conversation.
Their forms are designed to be experienced from every angle. As the viewer moves around them, the relationship between the figures continually shifts, creating new exchanges and alliances.
Digital Fabrication
The digitally fabricated Gossipers extend the sculptural series through contemporary design and 3D-printing technologies.
Developed from the original hand-modelled forms, each figure was digitally refined while retaining its individual posture and character. The process allowed the silhouettes, internal structures and dramatic cantilevers to be carefully engineered for balance, stability and scale.
The reflective surfaces and complex curves introduce a different material presence while preserving the central idea of the series. Traditional references and contemporary technology meet within objects that can inhabit both intimate interiors and larger public environments.
Whether assembled in a group or placed independently, the figures remain connected by the suggestion of an ongoing conversation that extends beyond the physical distance between them.
* All works from the Gossipers series have been acquired and are now held in private collections.