Khaled Chamma Syrian Australian, b. 1992

  • Khaled Chamma (b. 1992) is a Syrian Australian artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Using wax-based color pencils, Chamma creates... Khaled Chamma (b. 1992) is a Syrian Australian artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Using wax-based color pencils, Chamma creates... Khaled Chamma (b. 1992) is a Syrian Australian artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Using wax-based color pencils, Chamma creates...
    Khaled Chamma (b. 1992) is a Syrian Australian artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Using wax-based color pencils, Chamma creates drawings on paper that weave multilayered imagery meeting of natural and psychological worlds. Born to immigrant parents, Chamma lived in Syria for the middle ten of his thirty years. Chamma earnt a Diploma of Visual Art from RMIT in Printmaking (2013); and a Bachelor of Fine Art from RMIT in Expanded Studio Practice (2020). In 2022, his drawing “Summer Daydream” won Brunswick Street Gallery's 'Fifty Squared' art prize. Chamma's first solo exhibition entitled 'Ootheca' opened at Brunswick Street Gallery (2023), and six of his drawings were exhibited in West Space’s 30th anniversary group show alongside artists such as Susan Te Kahurangi King entitled 'Unison' (2023), curated by Sebastian Henry-Jones.

     

     

    "My art practice revolves around making drawings or paintings that are inspired both by nature and my experience of the world. Similar to the idea of body and spirit being separate entities, I approach the surface of the paper as a vessel and aim to imbue it with an elaborate spirit. I am interested in capturing images that are at once simple and complicated, whether it be a movement, an interaction, a layering of scenes, or an exploration of motifs and organic shapes. I work within the confines of the surface, employing a small and gestural method of repetitive markmaking to build up an expression of both stillness and frenzy. I am often inspired by animals, and I explore their characteristics and anatomies as a kind of visual language that transcends both the written and spoken word."