Interview by Jimon

1-Where do you reside and work currently?  I work and reside between Boston, Sydney and Istanbul.

2-How would you describe Sinan Hussein?  I am a traveler between the worlds. A ‘homeless’ soul whose senses are heightened, whose gaze is fascinatingly clear and whose perception is all-encompassing.

3-Did you have any training for art or is it inherent?  I started painting in at a very young age and I believe painting came to me as something natural, it was born with me. However with academic training at the University of Baghdad in the school of fine Art I polished my gift to become something bigger than just a dream, it became a necessity of life and I started to paint twenty hours a day. I became enchanted with painting to the point that it made me restless and forget in most cases to eat. I was deserted by my friends and disobeyed my family’s wishes of becoming an engineer and I isolated myself to live only among my paintings. The pain in my back was the only reason that stopped me from painting sometimes.

4-Do you remember the first piece of art that captured your imagination?  This question brings back a very dear memory to me, I still remember the young Sinan walking in the streets of Baghdad and I was enchanted by a man sketching in the street with blue ink pen and at that moment he inspired me to start sketching directly in ink to sketch classic master pieces by very well recognized renaissance artists.

5-What was the inflection point on becoming a full time artist?  I cannot be someone other than myself, art is my skin and I cannot live outside my skin and this is the main reason why I decided to become a full time artist and to devote my life to art.

6-Best advice you ever received in regards to your art?  A friend that is very dear to my heart once told me “find yourself in your own paintings”. This friend was Sabah Al Reys a Kuwaiti civil engineer.

7-What influences you as an artist?  The driving wheel which influences me continuously as an artist in all of my work is simply a never ending rich topics such as life, people and the environment I live in. The complications of human relationships, psychological issues, the environmental changes, politics and controversial statements that are capable of changing our future and destiny as human beings is what triggers and influence me to produce art.

8-Are you an optimist, pessimist or realist?  I am a realist, despite the fact that my work is contemporary paradox of life. Its full of overwhelming, irrational and often bizarre images, sometimes in the comforting world of my dreams, sometimes in the horror scenarios of my nightmares. It is hard to imagine what happens in my head at night or even when I just close my eyes. I am besieged by a never-ending succession of moments and impressions, stories, fables, myths and fairy tales. Yet, life forces me to be realist to never expect less or more.

9-Is there any reality behind your paintings or are they completely from imagination?  There is a significant amount of both reality and imagination. I would never be able to paint reality without using my imagination. In my pictures I focus on individuals and especially couples. The theme of marriage and relationships, as a metaphysical ‘union for life’ and a vision of happiness, is often reflected in my paintings. However, all complexities that follow human relationships and their interaction with the world on political, environmental and social aspects, form the realistic part of my paintings. On the other side my imagination is responsible for the unseen and hidden emotion that each character I paint holds within to tell the untold.

10-What would you change about the art world?  I think what it really matters for me to be changed in art world today is stopping to categorize artists and place them under certain movements from the past. You do not have to go to Art school to be a great artist or learn art out of syllabus, art should be taught in a raw and natural way to make true artists not followers.

11-How do you describe success as an artist?  The greatest success in art world is to create a work that moves the emotions and feelings of viewer whether it was positive or negative. To get an honest reaction of the viewer and them dive in mentally and emotionally. This is success! If the viewer expressed no emotion or feeling towards the work this mean you have failed in achieving the main purpose for your work.

12-How much planning is involved in your paintings or are they purely spontaneous?  I would not approach any painting without seeing a clear and finished image of the work I want to produce in my mind. Before I touch my brush and lay my hands on the canvas I do a lot of planning, I study the figure, the emotions and the key purpose or message that the character wants to deliver deliberately to the viewers. I paint with my imagination first and bring it to life later.

13-If you could have one of your pieces at any museum in the world, where would it be? Guggenheim, because of the concepts and topics they adopt in the work they display. The space they have and the history of the museum. My work’s identity belongs to Guggenheim.

14-How would you like to be seen as an artist years from now?  A great question, I am working on developing and modernizing contemporary art as well as being seen as the artist who dared to unfold the post-contemporary art world. Also who explored what comes after post-contemporary in order to create a legacy for the future.

15-Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  In general, visiting art museums and galleries all around the world inspires me the most. Observing people’s interactions on daily basis also triggers and inspires me to create the work.

16-If you could have dinner with 3 artists living/dead who would be at your table?  Van Gogh, Francis Bacon and Edvard Munch our table will witness an epic dinner.

17-Name three things you can’t live without in your studio?  Of course, it would be my Brushes, paint and most importantly my imagination.

18-If you were asking the questions what question would you ask and please follow up with an answer.  How can you see or live your life if you were not painting?  Simply, without art in the life of Sinan Hussein, he would never existed or lived life.

19-How would someone find you on social media?  Instagram sinan.hussein.sh

20-Please name the first thing that comes to your mind while reading the following:

Art= Life

Food= Temporary Pleasure

Sports= Health

Politics= Corruption/ Prostitution

Poor= Truth

God= The way

Rich= Lie

Luxury= Hypocrisy

Sex= Food/Pleasure

Picasso= Master

Religion= The Law