For a few more days, the Saskia
Fernando Gallery will exhibit the works of the talented young artist, Firi
Rahman. His realistic charcoal portraits are titled ‘Unconventional
Beauty’.
The sketches pay amazing attention to minute
details, with each wrinkle, crinkle and laugh line clearly visible in the
photograph-like images. What’s more amazing is that Firi is self-taught,
dedicating painstaking hours to pour life into his portraits. If I had a
horcrux, I’d get him to sketch a portrait of myself and then use that as my vessel.
His sketches are based on people he knows in
real life. His best friend, mother, sister, homeless old men, and random people
off Facebook are now immortalized through his art and will soon be hanging on
the walls of the people who bought the portraits.
Working for six to eight hours per day, Firi spends as many as five to six
days on a single portrait. We’ve reproduced a few of the 15 exhibits here, but
you should head over to the Saskia Fernando Gallery and witness them in their
full glory.
You could also check out more of his sketches
here. More
details about the event are available
here.