Forced Passage 7
1982 - Present
Description
A vertical composition on cream paper, built as a frame within a frame. A thick, irregular, visibly hand-drawn black border encloses the image and holds it apart from the surrounding paper ground. Inside, the space is organized into three horizontal zones: an upper band carrying a distant treeline and a horizontal architectural element, a central threshold, and a lower aperture opening onto vegetation in dark green and brown.
A single human figure stands at the center of the threshold, rendered as a flat black silhouette, frontal, elongated, and without facial features. A yellow-gold contour traces its edges, separating the figure from the dark ground behind it. Simplified stair-like forms in orange and red mark the space to either side. Behind the figure, the aperture gives onto layered greens and browns, with depth suggested through shifts of color rather than atmospheric recession.
The palette holds the cream of the exposed paper against black, light blue-gray, dark green and brown, yellow and gold, orange and red, with white used sparingly for highlights. The blue-gray passages carry horizontal striations from directional brushwork, while the silhouette stays matte and flat. Line does double duty throughout, working as contour and as compositional scaffolding: the yellow edges and orange stair marks are gestural and expressive, the outer border emphatic and deliberately uneven.
The handling is expressionist with a strong graphic sensibility, relying on flattened planes, non-naturalistic color, and the stark reduction of the figure to a silhouette. The threshold structure places the figure between an interior and an opening, neither fully inside nor out.
A handwritten signature and notation appear on the paper at the lower left, below the image. Neither is fully legible at archival resolution; the notation may include a date.
Artist Notes
A confined space, with no lateral extension in any direction, intensifying the sense of confinement and captivity amid the surrounding destruction. Figures are drawn with thin lines and without features, resembling traces and shadows of what was once known as a place.
Preservation Notes
SUPPORT AND MEDIUM (assessed from archival photograph, 2026-09-09) Works on paper, not canvas. The support appears to be a heavyweight cream or off-white art paper with visible surface texture. Media appear to be acrylic or gouache combined with ink. This should be confirmed by physical examination before any conservation treatment is chosen, as acrylic and gouache require different handling. CONDITION AND HANDLING Paper supports of this weight are vulnerable to cockling, edge tears, and creasing. Store and transport flat rather than rolled. The exposed cream paper margin forms part of the composition and is not a mount, so it must be protected from handling, fingerprints, and trimming. The black silhouette and blue-gray passages are matte and applied flat, which makes them prone to burnishing or shine if rubbed. Avoid surface contact and do not dry-clean the image area without testing. Gouache, if present, remains water-sensitive indefinitely and must not be exposed to moisture. RECOMMENDED DISPLAY Window-mount with acid-free, lignin-free board and hinge with Japanese tissue and starch paste. Do not dry-mount or use pressure-sensitive tape. UV-filtering glazing is advised: the yellow, gold, orange, and red accents are the passages most at risk of fading, and unglazed display should be avoided. OUTSTANDING VERIFICATION 1. A handwritten signature and notation sit on the paper at the lower left, below the image, and are not legible at current resolution. The notation may contain a date. Photograph this area at high resolution under raking light to establish attribution and year. 2. Year created is not recorded. The notation above may resolve it. 3. Dimensions are recorded as 29 x 21 cm. Every work in the Forced Passage series carries these identical dimensions, which may indicate a batch-entered default rather than individual measurement. Spot-check against the physical work. 4. The Medium field reads "Color abstraction," a style descriptor rather than a medium, and is shared across the series. Consider replacing with the physical medium once confirmed. 5. Current location is not recorded. CATALOGUING HISTORY This record was attributed to Mohammed Al-Haj on the evidence that all 15 works in the Forced Passage series are his and number 7 was the only gap. Attribution is by series inference, not by inscription, and should be confirmed. The Artist Notes field currently holds text identical to the description on Forced Passage 1, suggesting a shared series statement was copied across records rather than written for this work. Confirm with the artist whether the statement is intended to apply series-wide.
