The Compound at Night 2022
Adeena Nair (b. 2004-)
Digital print
40cm x 30cm
This digital painting executed in a realistic style displays a landscape of the artist’s residential housing compound, painted using the iPad Pro software named Procreate. The composition mainly uses achromatic Mars Black, Cadmium Orange, monochromatic Burnt Umber shades and Indian Red highlights. In the background is a tonally graduated sky in Ivory Black, while the middle ground is a series of houses with shadows of trees reflected onto them. A mother and child figure, cars and street animals are displayed in the middle ground communicating the evening activity in UAE housing compounds. In the foreground is an empty bench and street sign acting as a contrast to the movement of the people and animals transitioning through the landscape. The function of the artwork is Personal as the artist displays a fragment of her memory. The angle of the artwork which captures the landscape is true to the artist’s perspective, as it features the area of the compound she use to visit every night for a social interaction, gathering with her friends. This landmark is a coming-of-age journey throughout the twelve plus years she lived in this residential area. Through this painting, we glimpse the artists version of nightlife in-tune with her growth.