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The Art of Youssef Nabil
by Natacha Atlas How does one describe Youssef Nabil's pictures... What is it that captivates the observer?... is it the way he sheds sumptuous light on a subject?... is it the way beauty just jumps out at you?... like a canvas brought to life... each picture talking to you with vibrancy and classy etherealism, it's a pleasure for the eye to behold. Take for instance Youssef’s Frida Kahlo... a perfect serene gaze, this portrait is truly stunning, the composition... the almost Mona Lisa like gracious poise... the colors drip into your subconscious and stay there for an eternity... and the thorns... a reminder of the artist’s fragility. He gives each project a life of its own... he turns an ordinary scene into something larger than life... a woman in the sea... Youssra becomes a delicious mermaid adorned by a turquoise sea blanket, and Natacha Atlas is the perfect flirtatious "falaha" (peasant) in a fairy-tale field. Youssef seems to have a third eye with which he finds the hidden character in a subject and brings it to the surface... Sweet temptation is one of my favorites, I can stare at it for ages, it is a divine portrait of forties film glamour... seduction at its best, the red wine in that glass |
looking so sweet, you could drink the entire picture...
Youssef puts his subjects at ease even though he himself gets almost
frenzied running back and forth aching to get that idyllic shot, while
he is photographing you... you are his goddess and there is nothing but
you and him, or so it seems but at the same time he is a stickler for
the minutest detail... what’s above you... what’s behind you framing
the picture... all this has to be brush stroked intricately so as to
complete the fairy-tale, so as to complete the ultimate feast for the
eye... all
this is Youssef Nabil,... a photographer... an artist in love with beauty, in love
with art, in love with a thousand and one stories... in love with love, all
this can be seen and sensed when looking at a painted photo made by Youssef
Nabil. Natacha Atlas, singer
print version
London, March 2001
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