Eruption of the Inner Beast (2019)

Medium; Acrylic on Canvas

Size:120x90cm

Overall Meaning
  This work serves as a haunting personification of the Lebanese conflict as an immortal, self-sustaining entity. By placing a monstrous, red figure at the center, the artist has given a face to the "bad energies" that have plagued her childhood and the nation's history. The painting suggests that the war is not a series of events with a beginning and an end, but a living "beast" that feeds on the cycle of violence. It reflects the exhaustion of endurance; the feeling that no matter how much time passes, the same destructive spirit remains awake and watchful. It is a visual confession of how the trauma of a civil war becomes a permanent resident in the soul of those who survive it.

Composition & Form

 The composition is dominated by a towering, skeletal red figure that acts as a lightning rod for the chaos surrounding it. This piece has a clear, terrifying "anchor" in the center. The form is jagged and aggressive, with wide, staring eyes that suggest a state of perpetual hyper-vigilance—a common trait of those who have endured war. Surrounding this beast is a dense, claustrophobic web of electric blues, yellows, and oranges. These lines represent the "bad things" happening in real-time, swirling around the central figure in a way that suggests there is no escape and no "quiet" space left on the canvas. Compositionally, the piece is driven by a dynamic, almost explosive structure: the eye is drawn immediately to the dense, chaotic core of crimson, which dominates the canvas and radiates outward into a storm of gestural lines and fragmented shapes.

Style

   The style is a raw, unfiltered example of Neo-Expressionism, leaning into the primal and the grotesque to communicate a difficult truth. There is an "Art Brut" quality to the central figure—it feels like a direct, psychological discharge onto the canvas, unburdened by the need for polite realism. The brushwork is frantic and rhythmic, creating a visual vibration that mimics the "infinite cycle" you mentioned. By using high-contrast colors—vibrant red against cool blues—you create a jarring optical effect that forces the viewer to feel the same tension and friction that you endured. It is a style that prioritizes the "shriek" of the message over the silence of the medium.