During quarantine we have seen an emergence of new art from various forms. We have Tory with “Quarantine Radio”, Live music battles wit musicians , and Lena Waithe even participated by dropping gems through many Instagram lives. As I was scrolling through Instagram, I kept seeing these art pieces that felt like they were speaking to me. With the use of vibrant colors and nudes this artist depicted many cult black cinema classics and legends. Not only was this artist capturing the culture they were capturing the big moments in black culture as well. After being introduced to his work through the Instastory of Lena Waithe and then spending hours scrolling through his page I got to talk with man behind the art, Hamed Hazel.
Hamed (pronounced Ham-Ed) was born August 14 in London; Hackney to be exact. This fellow Leo man gave insight on how growing up there has helped to develop not only him but his art saying, “I’m from a part of London where it's all going on, a mixed town with opposing experiences, tongues, intents, but a shared longing for peace, I know this has seeped into how we deal with people, the urgency to get things out there, the awareness of the ones in power.” He credits his way into art with two women. First being Miss Audrey Mullins from his secondary school who instilled in him the core basics of using light, form, depth and context in term of drawing and painting. Second, he credits Gina Hanson as well for teaching him proportions, bone structure, color theory and flesh painting. When asked what sparked this love for the particular medium, he says that he it was just pure curiosity and wanting to know how cartoons were made.
For the twenty eight-year-old artist he makes it known that with art he expresses his vison. He speaks about the most serene part of the medium by saying, “ I read once that dancing isn't something that can be taught, it's felt and your body responds to it, like the most of us we go down a road of learning and unlearning, whether it's painting, dancing or signing, the richness shines brighter when it's at its most primitive form, things become easier, like a kid playing a basketball game, in the 4th quarter, exhausted on the losing side, then he/she becomes aware of a love interest in attendance, difficulty is no longer an issue, purpose has arrived.” With is art one can feel what he is putting out through it. He spent some time refining his techniques at institutions such as University of the Arts back in 2011 before subsequently doing a graphics degree at University of East London. He captivates the black story throughout majority of his pieces depicting infamous scenes in movies and artist that are home to the black culture. “It's easier to communicate with my own, because more than likely we share the same plights, joys and qualities, as well as a heightened awareness of the benefits me and others like me are blessed to have, had I been born a few decades before the 90's, expressing myself would've been met with a more violent restriction than we have today, I’d be doing a great disservice to myself if I didn't visually slowly savor the magical qualities people like me share.” His heightened since of self and community is something that one rarely sees in today's age but through this he is able to tell our peoples story.
Not only does he find inspiration through the black story but through Teddy Riley and Quincy Jones who he believes that they “used their tools and fed our senses thus helping vocalist's reach our hearts from theirs”. I asked him what he wants to change through art and he answered saying (also this has to be my favorite response), “.I would love to be a part of a force that wholeheartedly welcomes all expressions without any underlying scrutiny, hopefully the birth of a new intersection through technology, as long as that doesn't inhibit natural expression”.
In the next years to come he is going to use his medium to deal with helping the advancement of black liberation on all points. In 2020 he is going to continue to record life as he sees it and encourages the rest of us to do the same by saying to keep looking at what is going on just remembering it through out our mediums. Hamed is nowhere near done telling his story and others stories. His work is an experience that fills the body from head to toe with many different feelings, ones we can all appreciate during this time. You can view his work on his Instagram at @hamedhazel.