Hakeem b is a visual artist and graphic designer who lives and works in Paris, France. Hakeem b creates videos, drawings and sculptures that play upon juxtapositions, rendering the relationship of opposites as his primary subject matter. The artist’s work appears as either figurative or abstract. Reflecting on his complex roots, genre becomes secondary as the pursuit of locating a balance between physical and visual differences embodies the foreground of each piece.

From 2006 to 2010 Hakeem b created a series of animated videos that also combined the artist as a digital avatar as seen in Once Upon a Time (2006). Three additional videos Shoot the Moon (2009), Urban Lines (2010) and An ordinary day (2007) carry militaristic undertones that present fictitious gaming targets within virtual vistas. Beginning in 2009, the artist’s drawings captured the connection of disparate points seen across a flat surface. As seen in the series titled 1/Hb the extending lines sometimes appear loose, like string, before connecting and winding into larger representations. In one piece a small dot stands directly opposite a standing group of individuals. This particular piece creates an asymmetry that exists through the conflict of scale.

In 2010 Hakeem b began to incorporate small grids over colorful drawings in a different series titled 2/Hb, suggesting aerial landscape views. As seen in his most recent series 5/Hb, lines intersect into an array of different compartments and strike a similarity to rendered architectural forms. The act of intersection continues in Hakeem b’s sculptures titled Volumes 5/Hb that are freestanding forms made primarily with wood and cardboard. The artist’s attempt at balancing a series of opposites is further accentuated through the use of ephemeral materials.

Hakeem b received an award from the Casa de Velàzquez and was also an Artist-in-Residence there during 2007. From 2008 to 2010 he was awarded the Resident Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France. In 2010 he received the Award of the Alexandria Biennale. Hakeem b’s art has appeared in numerous group shows throughout Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, and Spain as well as at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City. The Al Ma’mal Gallery located at the Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem hosted a solo show of the artist’s video art during May 2009. His work will appear this year at the 26cc Gallery in Rome, Italy. His next exhibition will be in November in St. Petersburg, Russia as part of DigitalFest.