Laudi Abillama tells Time Out Beirut why, inspired by the world’s economic struggle, she decided to take her screenprinting techniques to the street.

At just 25 years old, Laudi Abillama is an impressive talent – it’s not a surprise that Sotheby’s accidentally added years to her age in the catalogue for a recent auction of Contemporary Arab and Iranian art in London, featuring her portrait of Oum Kalthoum, ‘Inta Omri’. Raised in England, the Lebanese artist has been working from a garage in Broumana the last few years, developing the screenprinting techniques she studied at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham. Her accent is still ever so British, and her works, such as ‘Arab Heroes’, a series of pop art-hued portraits of regional icons exhibited at Art Circle last year, happily stride East and West. Recently returned from a residency in Singapore, Abillama is set to open Art Circle’s new, and much larger, subspace on Hamra Street this month with ‘The Great Depression’, a striking set of screenprints inspired by the 1930s’ and today’s belt-tightening times. Your new exhibition takes inspiration from the Great Depression.

What attracted you to the era?
I was having a conversation with some friends and we were talking about everyone’s state of mind. A friend of mine is a historian and he said something about the Great Depression. I don’t know much about American history, but I looked into it. I was inspired by how people used to walk down the street with these big signs with all their qualifications written on it.

So you decided to recreate it yourself?
Yes. I asked random people to write on boards and took photographs of them. I did it with friends of mine who I think are quite interesting and have something to say. I went to Singapore for a residency and did it there. Then I picked a day and went down the streets of Hamra.

What reaction did you get in Hamra?
I wore the sign myself and wrote ‘please help me’. People mostly said no. Fifteen minutes in, more people warmed to me. I got some taxi drivers, some students, some foreigners. It was a good response but one policeman came over to ask what I was doing.

What techniques are you using to turn the photographs into screenprints?
With these works I usually paint the background and then add some kind of pattern or texture to it, adding colours, different techniques, some with glitter. In Singapore I drew faces, because when I was walking down a busy street all I would see was faces. It was a culture shock.

How did the Singapore residency come about?
I applied! Staying in Beirut it’s easy to get into a vicious circle or pattern or lifestyle. And also I’d never been to Asia. I loved it.

Tell us about your studio here.
I work in Broumana in a converted garage. It’s very messy, very rough and there are leaks in the walls. It’s far away from the centre – people don’t visit you as often but you’re inspired by the village around you.

How did you get into screenprinting?
Andy Warhol. I was 14 or 15 and we went on a school trip to the Tate in London. There was a huge exhibition of Andy Warhol’s work. At the time I don’t think I even knew who he was, but there was a huge camouflage piece – I was completely fascinated by it.