Pillars (Bebsi) Painting by Mustafa Shaheen

Painting: Oil on Canvas.

Monumental in stature, the bottles are commentary on language and accents. In the Arabic language, there is no letter for "p" so a "b" sound is substituted. The various hues of saturated brown are painted to be bold and appealing; my representation of people of color. In contrast, the red, white, and blue labels of the Pepsi branding, as well as the field of blue they exist in, are cold and sterile in their tonal handling; irreconcilable and unchanging.