Artwork: DemaOne, Hob houwa din, 09/2020, Plexiglass. Photo by Yannick Sas.

‘The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering’

— Ben Okri

DemaOne

Dema is a Belgian-Moroccan visual artist born and raised in Brussels, he started his exploration of art and identity thirty years ago. His work ranges from ink on paper calligraphy, to 30ft tall murals. He holds exhibitions and workshops internationally but spends most of his time organising events and activities for children and teenagers in his hometown of Brussels. Dema has always felt in between, at the crossroads of various identities and simply refused to choose a side. Each one of his pieces sits at the intersection of calligraphy, graffiti, poetry and language, diverging paths that all lead to personal and cultural growth. Dema not only embraces his intersectionality, he sees it, in all its complexity, as his truest self. 

Artist Page

EXHIBITION ARTWORK

The Unknown/ L'Inconnu

Dema’s installation is an exploration of friendship in all its forms through a play with light, colours and transparency - a friendship between Kalila wa Dimna’s ‘Four Friends’ the deer, the mouse, the turtle, and the crow. Each friend is depicted on etched plexiglass pieces inspired by Islamic geometry and manuscript painting.

The friends are faced with the presence of the hunter and their friendship is put to challenge depicted in the play of lights, blue and red, harmony and conflict. Yet the whole piece displayed in a totem like shape suggests the power of the collective, of friendship. One in the multitude, one in the diversity facing the hunter. The piece is mounted by a calligraphic piece depicting the words ‘loyalty’ and ‘protection’ in Arabic.

  • 3D Model of The Unknown centre piece installation