“First of all, I have to make it clear that, although I always dreamed of being an artist, I never thought I was talented enough to be one,” Jalal Luqman humbly admits. The Emirati mixed media artist, sculptor, curator, and author wears many hats and has been an active personality in the UAE’s art scene for over three decades. 

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Jalal was a practising freelance commercial artist. In addition to using traditional art production methods, he kept up with the times by mastering computer graphics, later becoming the first Emirati digital artist in the UAE. 

At the time, he says he looked at methods of art simply as tools to execute the job. “I only pursued art as a means to supplement my income during difficult times,” Jalal tells Villa 88 Man. “So, when I did decide to exhibit my work, I wanted to be the first in my field – oil painters, sculptors, watercolour painters, and every traditional form of art expression was already taken, and I didn’t want to be the second, third, or fourth in something.”

 He discovered that not only was he the first Emirati digital artist in the UAE, but probably the first documented digital artist to host an exhibition in the Arab world. “If you lack the courage to face the unexpected, you cannot venture into unexplored territory. Back then – and even now – I don’t like to be a slave to one method or technique,” he notes. “I like to have a wide arsenal of tools and techniques, limitless in creating whatever I have in my mind.”

Jalal’s artwork is mysterious and open to interpretation, just as he wants it to be. He invites the imagination to create freely, with just subtle hints and clues. “I never feel the need to write my messages in bold letters,” he explains, sharing his passion for studying the human condition. “We are oceans, with rampant feelings constantly changing and shifting. I paint feelings and emotions, the lovely and the ugly. I deliver cerebral messages directly to the viewer’s mind and memories.” His work challenges both meaning and material, combining computer software with metal, wood, and other common materials to transcend the limitations of the frame and engage and provoke the viewer. 

As with interior design, Jalal believes that particular materials and colours have the power to deliver certain feelings and emotions. “I imagine artwork as places or rooms,” he reveals.

“If you enter a dimly lit room with wooden floors and wooden bookshelves, with soft music playing in the background, you have a certain feeling. Then you enter a bright room with shiny aluminium floors and huge glass windows, with electronic music playing in the background, and you get a different feeling. If you are in a subterranean cave hearing echoes of your voice, there is yet another feeling,” he shares.

 Jalal views his art through a similar lens. “A mixed-media piece predominantly created using wood and then painted in bright oils will definitely have a different feeling than a giant steel sculpture, which is different from an animated digital mixed media or multisensory immersive experience. I am pleased that I can speak all of these languages,” he says.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the artist. Life tested him, especially with one big trial that would strengthen not only his artistic practice but his entire character. In March 2024, Jalal received a phone call informing him that an unexplained fire had burned down 21 warehouses in the same area where his art was stored. “As positive as I like to be, I had a feeling that I lost everything,” he sighs. Minutes later, his fears were confirmed. The fire destroyed all of the work he had produced in the last 34 years. 

The one thing the fire didn’t burn? His hope. “How did the fire start? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I believe in God’s plan for each of his creatures, and this was his plan for me,” shares the artist. 

Jalal refused to let the tragedy erase his hard work, making it his mission to revive whatever he could to rewrite his journey. Walking through the burnt warehouse, he found small belongings of loved ones who once resided here. “I tightly repressed my pain and tears, ensuring no one could witness my weakness,” he reveals, explaining how important it was that he chose not to give up at that very moment. 

“These moments shape your character. They reveal your strengths and weaknesses. That I would return stronger and bigger was unquestionable,” he adds. He remembered what he often taught to younger artists – to be resilient and strong, and to develop thick skin. This seemed like a test to see if he could practice what he preached.

The loss forced a detox of old methods and ways of thinking. “It was difficult to let go of something so dear, but I knew there was still fuel left in the engine to produce more,” he explains. There was still a fight left in him, but he had to reset his mindset.

Jalal’s new work represents him as he is today – a 58-year-old artist who has, through mental and physical wounds, gained invaluable insight and experience in creating new art forms. Drawing on his experience with digital art and old pictures, Jalal replicated and preserved the burnt pieces in the digital realm through an immersive experience. “You write your own story, and you can write whatever ending you want,” he states.

Six months after the fire, Dubai-based gallery Art in Space hosted Jalal’s new collection, made from the ashes and melted remains of his pieces. Titled What the Fire Left Behind, the show was a display of everything that represents his journey – a demonstration to the world that, in the face of the calamity that befell him, he chose to transform. It showcased multisensory immersive experiences, mixed-media artworks, AI-assisted digital art, and sculptures – the collection of small sculptures is still on display. Today, Jalal is working on another exciting venture that will be revealed soon. “I can’t share details just yet, but I can guarantee it will be unlike anything you have ever seen,” he promises.

Jalal’s response to the fire is one of resilience and reinvention – an admirable approach he has adopted in all other aspects of life, too. Challenges continue to fuel his determination to persist and thrive, solidifying his faith and opening new doors to success. He smiles, “I never start something I don’t finish – my journey is not over yet.”

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