Inside the notorious Abu Salim jail

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14755667

Colonel Gaddafi has called for Libya to be “engulfed in flames” in an audio message carried by a loyalist TV channel.

In Tripoli, human rights workers are trying to salvage records from inside Libya’s most notorious prison, Abu Salim.

Over the course of several decades, thousands of Libyans are said to have been jailed and tortured in the prison by members of the Gaddafi regime.

Jeremy Bowen reports from Tripoli.

A tale of a Libyan artist

A tale of a Libyan artist

View The Video:
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/07/201271483939185732.html

Mohammad bin Lamin used art to survive his time in prison before he was set free after the revolution.

Al Jazeera talks to Libyan artist Mohammad bin Lamin who used art to survive his time in prison before the country’s revolution.

From drawing on his prison cell walls with whatever he could find to his post-revolutionary art including sculptures made from used bullets and shells, bin Lamin hopes his art will offer a spiritual answer for the daily oppression around the world.

la storia siamo noi

(l’arte di Mohammad Bin Lamin, testimone della storia drammatica del suo popolo e capace di trasformare gli strumenti della guerra in immagini di pace. Un artista che ha sempre promosso la pace, la convivenza e il rispetto.) Silvia Casilli.

(the art of Mohammad Bin Lamin, witness the dramatic story of his people and capable of transforming the tools of war in peace images. An artist who has always promoted peace, co-existence and respect.)

From: Rai Educational – ITALY
http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/
Mohammad Bin Lamin

I fantasmi della nuova Libia
La Libia festeggia l’anniversario dell’inizio della Rivoluzione che ha sconfitto Gheddafi. Il Paese ha conquistato la libertà, ma non ancora la democrazia. Un viaggio attraverso i fantasmi di questa difficile fase di transizione.

View The Program:
http://www.lastoriasiamonoi.rai.it/pop/schedaVideo640480.aspx?id=880

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The Power of Mohammad Bin Lamin’s Art and The Libyan Revolution

By Hego Goevert

Anyone who says you can’t see a thought simply doesn’t know art (Wynetka Ann Reynolds) 

Can art be subversive? Oh, yes, it can! And there is no better evidence for this statement than the art of Mohammad Bin Lamin.Let me come right to the point:

Mohammad Bin Lamin’s art is unique. It cannot be categorized. And, of course, it eludes the control of any authority. His art clearly contributed to the outbreak of the Libyan revolution. He is one of those artists, writers, intellectuals who prepared the ground.

If you are able to ‘read’ paintings, you simply have to have a look at his 2007 series ‘Figures’ which depicts the pre-revolutionary atmosphere in Libya. Figures – painted on a unique blue background – in yellow, red, white, brown, wildly moving, dancing, and whirling around like some sort of mystical dervishes. The series expresses the irrepressible passion, the individual desire for freedom. Later, in his New Media series, Bin Lamin takes a closer look at the people’s faces and you can see grim, wrath. He also started to paint groups of people as if there would be a secret gathering going on…

When I got the news of his detention I immediately implemented various actions – together with my fellow artists of the internationally acclaimed MIRCA ART GROUP. We implemented actions as we had done before in aid of the release of Burma’s (Myanmar’s) Aung San Suu Kyi and China’s Ai Weiwei. Now one of our fellow members, Mohammad Bin Lamin, had been arrested and for unbearable 6 months we did not know if he was still alive.We felt more than a great relief and joy when we got the news that our friend had been freed from the detention in the infamous Abu- Salim-prison. This was a kind of victory for all of us!

Of course, Mohammad Bin Lamin’s art has changed since the end of the revolution. I think, it’s quite typical for him, that he started doing a captivating series called ‘Sculptures of War’, showing impressive sculptures made of bullet casings, in which he comforts and encourages the amputees of the revolution (“Life can be joyful and rewarding again!”). Only after doing this series he started to overcome his own trauma by doing the amazing ‘Torture of Tintalos’ series.

I do not think that anyone of us can imagine what Mohammad Bin Lamin has gone through during his detention – knowing that his wife was pregnant. I was so touched when she finally gave birth to
two lovely girls, his daughters Takbeer & Tahleel. May they reap in their lives what their father and the other heroes of the revolution sowed!.

I am so proud of being called Mohammad’s FRIEND. It is an honour to be friend with someone who stood up for the freedom of the individual, for the freedom of speech and art, for the dignity of man and for social justice. Though deeply rooted in the great culture of Libya, Mohammad Bin Lamin is a ‘global citizen’. I
cannot think of any better cultural ambassador for Libya!.

————————————————————————————————————————————

* Some of the places where Hego’s Artwork was displayed:

Cologne (Germany, Kalshof, “Cologne meets New York” Group Exhibition) 2011; New York
(USA, Skylight Gallery NYC, “Gestalt- German artists in Conversation” Group Exhibition)
2011; Cape Town (South Africa, Belinda Anvil- The Rainbow Experience Gallery- “Freedom and Art”-
Project/Travelling Exhibition) 2010 and the list goes on…

The Power of Mohammad Bin Lamin’s Art and The Libyan Revolution

The Power of Mohammad Bin Lamin’s Art and The Libyan

Revolution

By Hego Goevert

(Young Chronicle- Issue: 12, Volume: 01,

April 2012)

 

“Anyone who says you can’t see a thought simply doesn’t know art”

(Wynetka Ann Reynolds)

Can art be subversive? Oh, yes, it can! And there is no better

evidence for this statement than the art of Mohammad Bin Lamin.

Let me come right to the point:

Mohammad Bin Lamin’s art is unique. It cannot be categorized.

And, of course, it eludes the control of any authority. His art

clearly contributed to the outbreak of the Libyan revolution. He is

one of those artists, writers, intellectuals who prepared the ground.

If you are able to ‘read’ paintings, you simply have to have a look at

his 2007 series ‘Figures’ which depicts the pre-revolutionary

atmosphere in Libya. Figures – painted on a unique blue

background – in yellow, red, white, brown, wildly moving, dancing,

and whirling around like some sort of mystical dervishes. The

series expresses the irrepressible passion, the individual desire for

freedom. Later, in his New Media series, Bin Lamin takes a closer

look at the people’s faces and you can see grim, wrath. He also

started to paint groups of people as if there would be a secret

gathering going on…

 

 

When I got the news of his detention I immediately implemented

various actions – together with my fellow artists of the

internationally acclaimed MIRCA ART GROUP. We implemented

actions as we had done before in aid of the release of Burma’s

(Myanmar’s) Aung San Suu Kyi and China’s Ai Weiwei. Now one of

our fellow members, Mohammad Bin Lamin, had been arrested

and for unbearable 6 months we did not know if he was still alive.

We felt more than a great relief and joy when we got the news that

our friend had been freed from the detention in the infamous Abu-

Salim-prison. This was a kind of victory for all of us!

Of course, Mohammad Bin Lamin’s art has changed since the end

of the revolution. I think, it’s quite typical for him, that he started

doing a captivating series called ‘Sculptures of War’, showing

impressive sculptures made of bullet casings, in which he comforts

and encourages the amputees of the revolution (“Life can be joyful

and rewarding again!”). Only after doing this series he started to

overcome his own trauma by doing the amazing ‘Torture of

Tintalos’ series.

 

 

I do not think that anyone of us can imagine what Mohammad Bin

Lamin has gone through during his detention – knowing that his

wife was pregnant. I was so touched when she finally gave birth to

two lovely girls, his daughters Takbeer & Tahleel. May they reap in

their lives what their father and the other heroes of the revolution

sowed!

I am so proud of being called Mohammad’s FRIEND. It is an

honour to be friend with someone who stood up for the freedom of

the individual, for the freedom of speech and art, for the dignity of

man and for social justice. Though deeply rooted in the great

culture of Libya, Mohammad Bin Lamin is a ‘global citizen’. I

cannot think of any better cultural ambassador for Libya!