9 Questions with Abdo Hassan, ORIGINAL issue

Abdo Hassan is a Visual artist, based in Cairo, Egypt. Featured in Al-Tiba9 magazine.

Specialized in digital visual arts, digital collages, and mixed media, Abdo hassan’s collages images with artistic vision following no rules, making artworks with wild colors and surreal concepts. This expression has no boundaries, and this is the freedom he finds in the surreal and collage arts.

For Abdou Hassan, every artist is a prophet that has a message to deliver and causes to fight for. What makes him a messenger of his vision is seeing people facing wars and poverty—these overthinking and depressing feelings turn these feelings into art and powerful visual creation.

He’s participated in Graphic Matters festival, Speak up in the Netherlands, showing the suffering of children in Aleppo wars. He raised money for hurricane victims and got published to show the struggles of the Arab women and teens, with marriage problems and in other publications around the world. Abdo Hassan joined international exhibitions and got featured in various books and magazines.

abdo-hassan.me | @3abdo.h

Interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj.

What kind of education or training helped you develop your skillset?

I am currently studying architectural engineering, perspectives, shades and shadows, and art history.

How did you start making art?

I am a natural trier. As a kid, I used to crop pictures from magazines and comic books and put them together to create a canvas. I found this the easiest way to speak my mind out. I can say that I am a visual artist. Images and visuals are the tools to express my deep feelings.

How do you discuss the aesthetic though manipulating reality and illusion? How do you successfully express this intention?

I am more of a natural trier. I always create visuals with unrelated content; for example, I try to put wings on a car and see where that goes. The heavily crowded places always inspire me with a lot of un-logical mixtures. I still build my visuals with trial and error method, I collect mutual characteristics in some unrelated content to create a mix where two characters are not related to each other whatsoever, but they have one aspect in common.

I live in a folk district in Egypt, full of culture and people; I guess that what builds my vision. Every day I walk, I see different people, I see crowds, but feel comfortable.

Where did you get your imagery from? What sources did you use?

My primary source of the material is from the internet. I always search and collect from everywhere, specifically from Shutterstock and Envato.

You are also a videomaker, what does video excel at that photography does not?

Of course, I think that video represents more than a picture as the changing elements can illustrate more than that static in an image. I also create psychedelic illusion motions.

Which editing software do you usually use? Are you experimenting with new technologies?

I mainly use Adobe Photoshop, illustrator, premiere pro, after effects, and Maxon Cinema 4D and I use new techniques as ZBrush and 3d renders

The most exciting/challenging project you worked for?

The most challenging project that I worked on was animals x traditions. I tried to visualize and relate the Egyptian traditions with local quotes. This project aims to deal with the traditions that are carved in our minds. It is a call for the possible change, perhaps for an update that serves society with a particular maturity and fewer social problems.

How do you seek out opportunities?

Doing art is great, but doing it for a cause is greater. I believe that every artist is a prophet. I have a message to deliver, and I have reasons that challenge me. I make collages for purposes that serve my society.

I always seek exciting opportunities to showcase my POV of critical situations, and I deliver my message as an artist.

Do you have any upcoming shows or collaborations you are looking forward to?

Yes, my work was scheduled to participate in a group exhibition in Portugal. Still, it's currently postponed due to the unfortunate global COVID-19 crisis. I am currently working on a project during the quarantine about visualizing every day conflicted feelings.