Interview: Bayan Dahdah, Multidisciplinary Artist

By Angela Tai

As a multimedia artist, how do you "paint" a cohesive picture for your audience?

It’s actually a lot simpler than I imagine most people would think. I work with a lot of existing visual material, so it’s just a matter of combining them in the right compositions. And then I add a few bits of my own original material here and there, sketches/animations and whatnot. But the thing stringing all these elements together has always to be the subject matter. No matter what I use, it has to add or further perpetuate the message I am trying to get across. As long as I don’t lose sight of that, I can’t go wrong. 

You grew up in Doha (Qatar). How has your heritage influenced your art?

It’s strange; growing up in an environment where no two people are from the same country is the biggest blessing, but also forces you to be more introspective about who you are and what you want to learn from each culture you encounter, as well as rethink the traditions you were brought up in. I think that sort of exposure and reflection is what led me to constantly be inquisitive about my past and present, which are the main themes in my work today. It’s being constant flux with unlearning and relearning myself, and sharing my findings visually, hoping that someone will be able to identify. Then there is the obvious whole other layer to this of being Palestinian, with my grandparents being refugees in Jordan, and the whole ‘displacement’ complex. That inherited trauma features heavily in all my work whether I want it to or not. 

How did you find your voice as an artist/designer?

I don’t think I ever actively tried to find a voice, I think I just always tried to be truthful, and that in itself led me to have a distinct ‘style’. I think trying to find a style or a voice is counterproductive; no one is going to have the combination of experiences, exposure, and flair that you have, so I think as long as you are making the intrinsic extrinsic, you can’t go wrong. 

What are your top 4 favorite trends?

The first would have to be the deconstruction of Eurocentric standards of beauty across social media! This makes me very happy and I wish I were exposed to this as a child. 

Aesthetically speaking, I am still a sucker for minimalistic trends, despite what my Instagram feed looks like! Whether its products, interiors, print - there is nothing I love more than sleek and simplistic design. Slow fashion is another trend I love! I’m really enjoying getting selective with the pieces that I’m buying - it has led me to more originality and diversity in the clothes that I’m wearing. Does taking time off social media count as a trend? If it does - then definitely that. I really find myself getting so caught up in it I have to stop myself sometimes. 

An artist's journey is almost as precious as the final product. Can you talk about your process (from concept to production), or how you typically find inspiration?

The process usually goes one of two ways. The first (the most common method) is I’ll usually have a realisation about something in my life, and feel so strongly about it that I set off to find visual material that supports it. Be it from my archives, a video I watched one time, an excerpt from a book I read. Then I merge them together to make a cohesive ‘triptych’ if you will. The other way is I’ll be minding my own business, either looking through old photographs, or reading an article online, and a ‘message’ will show itself to me within this work, so in that sense the material informs the concept, as opposed to the former. I can’t predict when or where an idea will come, it just usually does, but I can prompt them by doing some research or asking the right questions. Or it can simply be a reflection of something I’m going through at the time!

What's the toughest part about your job?

It’s a tightrope balance between vulnerability and oversharing. It can also set my mind into overdrive with introspection, which can be unhealthy sometimes. Not everything needs to be dissected and questioned. I have to actively ground myself to just be and enjoy. 

So much of your work is about storytelling and journaling. What do you want your viewers to get from your work?

Sometimes I feel a little too self-involved, and wish that my work could mean or do something profound haha. The fact of the matter is, I use it more as a tool to benefit myself and help myself reach self-actualisation. Whether or not a viewer identifies with something is totally up to them. Even if zero people engaged with my work, I would probably still be doing the same thing. But the little moments when some really connect with what you’ve experienced is really lovely. And the best part is - my storytelling style has now led me on to tell other people’s/client’s stories, which I’m really enjoying.