Lot 53: Jeffar Khaldi (Palestine, born 1964) In the Kingdom that was never mine,

In the Kingdom that was never mine, oil and mixed media on canvas, signed and dated '06 lower right, 185 x 230cm (72 13/16 x 90 9/16in).

Palestinian artist Jeffar Khaldi was born and raised in Lebanon and lived in Texas for many years before moving to Dubai in the late nineties. Typically complex in form, Khaldi’s canvases incorporate his observations of a beleaguered modern existence into his own pseudo-fantasy world. Drawing corollary inspiration from the bold-faced declarations of the international press, Khaldi brings forth a varied cast of characters, depicting positive and negative sentiments with equal ardour. We find refugees on the run, boats sailing towards the horizon, civilians hiding from sniper fire, and children napping in the forest. The artist blends dream and reality in an arresting clash of subject and setting. His controversial paintings employ a visual language appropriated from his Palestinian homeland, yet are not limited to a single cultural identity, much less one artistic paradigm.

In The Kingdom Which Was Never Mine, Khaldi returns to his familiar seated subject, here represented as a wise old man, playing with his prayer beads as he passes judgment on those around him. From the overturned al-Aqsa Mosque in front of him to the ominous bucket brimming with refuse beneath him, the work is charged with a pervasive anxiety in characteristic Khaldi fashion.

The proceeds from the sale of this lot will benefit START/Al-Madad Foundation.