Arab Spring. Mas.s starts a new series of paintings showing the beauty of the Arab world.

Arab Spring. A charged term in many ways.. Mas.s says "I wish to show the world another side, to show what we have in common, what we share as a human race, which unites us intstead of dividing us. Many people  think of the Arab world, especially in these times, only in terms of conflict, dictatorship, religion, oil, money etc. I wish to show the beauty of these countries, often unbeknown to the general public."

I realise, there are currently many issues such as dictatorship, absolute monarchy, human rights violations, economic crisis, unemployment, corruption, poverty, religious division, dissatisfaction, demographic problems and a clash between the generations. All causes for division. 

I won't minimise for a moment the severity of the situation. There's incredible suffering, uncertainty and constant threats. But I wish to step above that. Despair is the opposite of hope and despair is very dangerous. There are countries and people of imaginary beauty and depth. People like you and me. We have more in common then what divides us. 

He has just finished a painting of the desert in his typical style. Colourful and unique in expression. The sky is vibrant and the desert is painted in reds and yellows with dots of palm trees springing up. The colours are symbolic and also hopeful.

In the months to come he will produce a series of landscape paintings covering many countries in the Arabic world.

More of his work can be found on www.mas-s.com