Since 2016, I started capturing human faces for different art projects by using materials including canvas, burlap, denim, ceramic, glass, and other materials.

In 2018, I began to animate some of my paintings and sculptures as an observation of new public trends spread among young smartphone users. I noticed that some users change their facial features by using simple tools and apps that are available via Snapchat, Instagram, and other platforms and posting them publicly or sending them to their family members or friends.

Driven by my work as a filmmaker, I created a series of animated faces based on my early artworks and grouped them in individual and collective videos under the title “the Cinema”.

I understand that sometimes we go to the cinema to watch actors adopting different roles to entertain us. Some performers look foolish, whereas other performers repeat certain gestures for different purposes. On one hand, I wanted my animated faces to communicate with the visitors of my exhibition at Maraya Art Center in Sharjah; on the other, I think what’s happening on social media in our time, particularly the selfie phenomena and other related trends, is marking a new era that is worth being captured in its cynical context using any possible art form.