Camouflage

“Camouflage is the most interesting of all the arts.” - Kris Saknussemm


A secret does not hide the truth; it camouflages a lie.

Have you ever wondered how much you reveal of your real self? Maurice Dantec, a French-born Canadian science fiction writer and musician, stated that a secret does hide the truth. Or at least it is not its main purpose. A secret is made to camouflage a lie.

Every human being is a complex combination of mixed psychological structure and feelings, where the name of the game is… hide-and-seek. We choose – or at least try – to draw a positive and confident image before others on one hand, and on the other to hide our insecurities, fears and flaws to protect ourselves against rejection or criticis; but this mechanism does not change who we truly are, our anima.

“Camouflage” – The Exhibition

The exhibition is above all a tribute to nature, its secrets and tireless cycle, breathing life into all creatures, fauna and flora. Dead tree leaves of the fall cover the earth’s soil and while they undergo the process of decomposition, an unpleasant and scary transformation from our human perspective, they allow the growth of new organisms and provide essential nutrients to the vegetation in their ecosystem.


These same leaves have also given life to this exhibition. They are its main component and matrix. Leaves falling off the same tree are different from one another, every tree has a unique look, and so are the art pieces of the exhibition.

The Unspoken Words

Just like they hide the surface of the earth, the tree leaves are hiding words within the artwork frame. Unspoken words that we camouflage in an attempt to ignore the existence of these feelings or realities. The uniqueness of each composition reveals hidden letters; look closely and then think of what this word means to you!

Printmaking and mixed media

In this exhibition, brahim samaha explored another of his cherished art making techniques: printmaking. The leaves are collected by his own hands, displayed in compositions of different sizes and formats, inked and then printed on the press or directly on acrylic glass (widely known as plexiglass).

The next phase consists of incorporating the laser cut letters into the artwork to form the hidden words. Each word has its own story, each word has its own source and origin: people from various backgrounds with different fears and aspirations.