A popular Bahraini artist’s painting of one of the last surviving major stars from the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ went missing from an art and music festival over the weekend, within hours of being created.
Bahraini artist Aref Ghuloom’s painting of Sophia Loren has been missing since evening of the Soundscapes festival, held on Friday.
One of the festival’s organisers told the GDN that an internal investigation was ongoing, and at this time, they were not sure if it was simply misplaced or stolen.
“We are checking with the community to see if anyone has seen it, and reviewing footage with the venue,” he added.
“There were more than 700 people, including those working there. Once we are done reviewing the footage, we will decide on the appropriate course of action.”
The festival took place at Al Riwaq Art Space, which was not involved in the operation of the event.
The festival organiser noted that as of yesterday afternoon, a police complaint had not been filed.
A message shared on the publicly accessible Soundscapes Bahrain community WhatsApp group noted: “Hello community, we’re looking for this artwork.
“It was taken from site on Friday.
“Please let us know if you have seen it or know who might have taken it.”
When reached for comment, Mr Ghuloom told the GDN that the painting was intended as a gift for renowned Bahraini painter Abbas Almosawi’s daughter Marwa.
Mr Almosawi conducted an outdoor joint live painting session with Mr Ghuloom near the entrance of Al Riwaq, creating the stunning depiction of Ms Loren on a canvas lined with playing cards.
The Italian actress, now 91, began her film career at age 16 and her performance as Cesira in the film Two Women (1960), directed by Vittorio De Sica, won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first performer to ever win an Oscar for a non-English-language performance.
In 1991, she received the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements and, in 1999, the American Film Institute named her one of the greatest stars of American film history.
“I last saw the painting around 9.45pm or 10pm when I left for the evening, and then, the next day, I was told it had gone missing,” Mr Ghuloom added. “Honestly though, I just find it funny – it is so unlike Bahrain for something like this to happen.
“Abbas told me about this actress and taking inspiration from her likeness, I created a piece where she is holding a saxophone.
“People coming in were complimenting the piece throughout the afternoon and evening and some even offered to buy it, but I told them I had already gifted it.
“I just wanted to get a picture of it in the daylight, so I left it at the venue overnight.
“As for me, I am just glad that people are appreciating the piece, and more than that, just the opportunity to paint alongside Mr Almosawi was the true honour.
“I hope the piece is just misplaced somewhere and Mr Almosawi’s daughter does get the piece.”
The Soundscapes festival took place on Friday afternoon from 2pm to 11pm, and featured a diverse lineup of local and international musicians.
The festival had a main musical stage, as well as a secondary ‘Alternative’ one, in addition to wellness activities like yoga and art classes.
Mr Ghuloom’s painting was last seen by the artist near the entrance to Al Riwaq, in an area the organisers called ‘Haven Station’ in a festival map released prior to the event.
The GDN has approached Al Riwaq for comment and is awaiting a response.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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