Tom Young on Painting,

Merging Lebanon and Britain through Art,

History, Heritage, Preservation,

Memories, Identity and Searching for Belonging

Tom Young at his exhibition Belonging II at the Marie Jose Gallery in London

Tom Young considers light and space through his art, blurring realism with washes of paint, painting his memories, childhood in the UK, living in the Lebanon—the country's joyful instances and times of sorrow, its social and historical moments, exhibiting in old buildings affected by Lebanon's Civil War, reframing them into exhibition spaces.

Young has documented the 2019 Thawra/Revolution through art and painted the aftermath of the heartbreaking 4th August 2020 Beirut Port explosion. Surviving the explosion himself and restoring his art studio in the Gemmayzeh area of Beirut which was severely impacted, many of Young's paintings have highlighted the civil society who helped Beirut with the clear up after the destruction. 

In his most recent works, Tom Young’s paintings reflect on his attachment to both the Lebanon and the UK, merging the two countries in art.  Brushstrokes crushing into each other, flowing the notions of culture and identity back and forth, painting buildings—architectural monuments, studio spaces, family homes, community festivals in both countries, and contemplative on histories and present times, wars and humanity.
Paint drips in his artworks across nature and urban landscapes, construction and destruction, houses and flowers, light and shadow, through space and time exploring memory, layers of the past fusing into current times, questioning belonging—the title of Tom Young's exhibition in 2023 in his gallery in Beirut and its second part ‘Belonging II’ which took place at Marie Jose Gallery in London in June 2024. The 'Belonging' series are an array of absorbing paintings filled with detail capturing with artistic skill the observations of two places and what they evoke for the artist, looking at the meaning of belonging—as well as what makes up that word—the words 'be' and 'longing'. 

In the clips below, Tom Young walks through his exhibition in London, describing what lies behind each engaging artwork from the 'Belonging' series, how he connects his life in the UK and journey into the Lebanon, documenting in paint how humanity and people's strength can unite after hardship and devastations, creating artworks to bear witness and to bring forth empathy and compassion. Searching for belonging in between the colours and across the sceneries, finding it through painting—an amalgamation of the artist's memories, thoughts, questions and observations—as we begin with Young relaying what first drew him to art...

Tom Young explains what drew him to art, speaking about painting and drawing as being a natural element for us all. He relays how art was encouraged by his mother and father, making scrapbooks during family holidays, and how his grandmother who was a painter, took him out into the fields to paint and draw, as well as teaching him to see art as a way to communicate with different cultures.

Inspired by his grandmother's and mother's love of flowers, Tom paints flowers and gardens, processing the sad loss of his mother's passing when Young was only 10 years old, and celebrating her memory through his art. 

The clip shows 'Stockhill House Flowers' painting, Young's father's house, and his childhood home, a place of refuge for Tom Young after his mother passed away, and when coming back to the UK after the 4th August 2020 port explosion in Beirut. 

Other places Tom Young has worked and lived in has been The Rose House in Ras Beirut, which he paints in the artwork 'Rose Garden', showcasing both beauty and decay intertwining.

Rose (Witness), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 80 x 60 cm;

Stockshill House Flowers, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 50 x 40 cm; Rose Garden, Tom Young, Oil  on Canvas, 50 x 40 cm

Tom Young talks about what 'belonging' means to him, questioning and exploring the notion of belonging to several places at once.

The first 'Belonging' exhibition was held in the Gemmayzeh area in Beirut, in his gallery which had been restored after the 4th August 2020 port explosion. The artist chose to display his work there, wanting to contribute to the renovation and preservation of history—an important part of Young's work, not just through painting but also through the artist's community work in Lebanon, as well as hosting exhibitions in old houses to showcase the country's history and conserve the memory of buildings, with Young being interested in space and architecture and how those elements contribute to the idea of 'belonging'.

As Tom Young relays in this clip, he loves his homeland Britain and his adoptive homeland Lebanon. Through his art, Young aims to look for and bring forth the connections between the two lands. His painting 'Carnival' (Notting Hill), a celebration of diversity and music sits alongside 'Festival' (Gemmayzeh, Beirut), a painting of a music festival in Beirut. 

At other times, as Young explains, his art becomes a tool of cultural resistance, referring in his art to the inequalities and disparities he sees in the world, expressing it in his art. In his painting 'Double Standard' Young paints in response to conflict in Gaza and to human suffering. Tom Young describes how on one hand there is an advocacy for human rights and democracy, and on the other, having those notions not align through actions. 

'Festival' (Gemmayzeh, Beirut), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 140 x110 cm

'Carnival' (Notting Hill), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 140 x 110 cm

Tom Young paints to bear witness, he shares his thoughts on the role of art and artists, mentioning a sense of responsibility to inform through art what is happening in our world.

Going through his artwork 'Flowing East', Young's painting flows from West Beirut to East London and back again.

Part of the painting is the view from the Holiday Inn, which doesn't feature in the artwork, but was at the centre of the Civil War in Lebanon; and the other side of the painting is the view from the Shard, the Al Jazeera offices, the news channel which had interviewed Tom Young about painting from the Holiday Inn building. 

The painting retraces history, the memory of Lebanon, as Young relates it to poetry—in how we read places and their memories, mentioning in this clip the poet T. S. Eliot who wrote about time and memory. With the flow of the river Thames in the painting, Young also retraces his own family history, as another part of the painting depicts the area of Wapping in Docklands where Tom Young's paternal great grandmother was from.

In 'Flowing East' one city merges into another and back again, Young technically also does so through the use of oil paint—helping transition the flow of the cities, the histories and the memories.

Tom Young explains in this clip how he resonates with the Lebanon. Human emotion, his family trauma, the loss and separation he experienced, dislocation, are all elements he recognised within the country and connected with, noting that, it is not just about belonging to a country that matters, but about identifying with it. Young analyses that he understands, how sometimes, the response to pain which is too much to deal with, could translate into escapism. 

Referring back to his painting 'Festival' (Gemmayzeh, Beirut),Tom Young tells us about the aftermath of the 4th August port explosion in Beirut. He paints his art studio where only one year after the explosion musicians played from his studio balcony with Young playing jazz trombone. The painting symbolising the recovery, the young of the city of Beirut, its civil society clearing up and healing, painted by Young in homage to them. 'Festival' (Gemmayzeh, Beirut) is an amalgamation of different entities coming together in a painting, the destruction, the clear up and recovery, with the music, celebration, the hope, the tomorrow.

One element that art can do, is reflect on what is happening, as Young says, now more than ever, as debate becomes more polarised, art can project and show us what is occuring. 

Flowing East, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 110 x 140 cm

Tom Young's painting 'Survival' (Al Zaher) represents the former Residence of British Ambassadors in Lebanon from 1941 to 1985. It is now Dar Al Aytam Al Islamiyeh, a social welfare institution, where Young set up his studio in General Spears' former bedroom, teaching art in the residence to the orphaned children of the institution, holding an exhibition there in 2017 with the children from the NGO. After researching the history of the place, Young encompasses in the painting, the history of the institution, Lebanon's independence in 1943, General Spears and Lady Spears, and the flowers and butterflies from the garden which represents the youthful spirit of the children. 

Survival (Al Zaher), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 140 x 180 cm

Tom Young discusses his painting 'A Tale of Two Galleries'. One side of it depicts Young's studio in Beirut and the other side the Marie José Gallery in London. Merging the place where his work is created to the place where the work was shown. The river Thames flows between them, with the composition of the river inspired from the aerial photo by Michael Halaby. 

 Artist Tom Young conveys here what Lebanon evokes for him—a place where he finds his peace, a place of light, energy and spontaneity. For Young, though living in Beirut as he says can be chaotic, it's also where he has experienced warmth, kindness and hospitality, a city that harbours a great creative community. 

A Tale of Two Galleries, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 120 x 100 cm

Tom studied architecture at university, and is fascinated by space and how that affects us. As he explains here, he designs his exhibitions as immersive experiences. With the 'Belonging II' exhibition, he aimed to create a space to feel like one painting—where the viewer walks through the different paintings that refer to struggles, wars, conflicts as well as parties and festivals, to end up viewing the painting 'Dreamlands' representing for the artist light and harmony, fusing the flowers and mountains of Lebanon with the flowers of England, which in this painting are from his father's village in Northamptonshire, where a Cedar Tree of Lebanon is planted. 

Tom Young's paintings from the exhibitions 'Belonging' in Lebanon and 'Belonging II' in the UK, bring the two countries together. Two countries which the artist has lived in, searching for where he belongs, the place he is longing for, where he can just be. In art he explores important questions of identity, but also of war and of humanity. Questioning where humanity can be found in the face of destruction. His art reflects both light and shadow, whilst documenting histories and present times, longing for humanity to carry empathy for all, be-ing an artist, be-longing to the paint and the brushstrokes that flow. 

Paintings by Tom Young documenting 2019 Revolution/Thawra in Lebanon, the 4th August 2020 Beirut Port explosion and aftermath

Martyrs Square Night, Beirut, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 130cm x 160cm

"Just a few days after the main protest site had been vandalized by thugs, I was amazed to see everything had been repaired and a huge celebration was held in the main square with music and dancing. I was so inspired and heartened by this show of unity and resilience- to come back stronger. So I painted this picture of the overall scene, paying close attention to the mosque and church, the moon and stars that were shining in the sky that night and the little ‘aranees’ stall in the foreground- symbolizing the ordinary worker and a classic Lebanese tradition. Aranees is for everyone- no matter what their religion is!" - Tom Young  http://www.tomyoung.com

Motherland, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 65cm x 54cm

28th October 2019. "I painted this on the day of the ‘human chain’, an amazing display of unity and love between all people up and down the country." "[...]  I wanted to reflect the vital role of women in the revolutionary movement. Lebanon is like a mother to people, both Lebanese who live here and for the millions of expats who often come back for holidays and dream about when they are abroad. Like the root, the homeland plays a maternal role.This means a lot to me on a personal level because my mother died when I was young. What people are campaigning for now is to save their mother (land)- something sadly I could not do. When I saw a young girl clinging to the leg of her mother in the crowd, I was touched because at once I could feel the vulnerability of the girl, and how she clings to her mother for protection; symbolizing how people are clinging to the idea or dream they have about Lebanon and what it could be." - Tom Young http://www.tomyoung.com

Desolation (Ground Zero Beirut), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas,106cm x 120cm
 

Gemmayzeh Story, Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 150cm x 185cm

"Layers of the City, from the destruction of 4th August 2020 to subsequent years of recovery and revival.. featuring my studio/gallery in the white building near the centre- a late Ottoman style residence." - Tom Young http://www.tomyoung.com

 Angels (Beirut, August 2020), Tom Young, Oil on Canvas, 85cm x 73cm

Based in Beirut and London, artist Tom Young's architectural training, BA(Hons) Architectural Studies, Newcastle University, informs his interest in light and space. Interested in blurring the boundaries between realism and abstraction, Young explores symbolism, memories, history, resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. 

Young often exhibits his work as site specific installations which grow from the buildings he works in, transforming abandoned spaces into living centers of creativity, preserving heritage and memory.

Tom Young has widely exhibited, including: at Oxo Tower Gallery, South Bank, London (2000); at Gallery 54, Mayfair, London (2002); with with St'art Gallery at New York (Armoury), Dublin, Glasgow and Chelsea Art Fairs (2003); at  'Cityworks', Artbank Gallery, Clerkenwell, London (2004); exhibition 'I Love Beirut', Adam Street Club, the Strand, London (2006); exhibition 'Moods of London', West Eleven Gallery, Notting Hill, London (2006); exhibition 'The Thames', Russell Gallery, London (2008); exhibition about Lebanon 'Resilient Spirit', Indar Pasricha Fine Art, London (2008); exhibition 'Road to Damascus' series of paintings at St Pauls Cathedral 300 year anniversary exhibition, St Pauls, London, (2010); exhibition of landscapes at Gabala International Art Exhibition, Azerbaijan. (2011); exhibition 'Fairground' at British Embassy Residence, Lebanon in aid of SOS Children's Villages, Lebanon (2013); exhibition At The Rose House in Beirut- transforming an iconic empty mansion in Beirut into an exhibition venue and cultural center for 3 months, (2014); exhibition Spectrum at British Embassy Residence, Lebanon, (2016); exhibition of artworks, installations and partial renovation of Sofar Grand Hotel,Lebanon, (2018); with the British Embassy in aid of Rebecca Dykes Foundation in Lebanon and Royal Opera Arcade Gallery,London, (2018);  Revival at Hammam Al Jadeed, Saida Old Souq, Lebanon, (2020); Exhibitions about the Lebanese Protest Movement 'Thawra' at Beit Beirut, Janine Rubeiz Gallery and ArtScene Gallery (@392Rmeil393, Beirut), (2020); Belonging II, Marie Jose Gallery (2024). 

Tom Young has taught several art workshops including at SOS Children's villages, Lebanon, and art and music workshops at Al Kamandjati School, Bourj al Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut in 2011, and in 2016 art workshops with the children of Dar Al Aytam orphanage at Al Zaher, Zarif, Beirut Young was commissioned in 2012 to paint the Olympic Broadcasting Services Building, London Olympic Village. 300 signed prints of the painting presented to heads of the world's media at Games Opening Ceremony. He also collaborated on a live art performance about the Royal Jubilee River Pageant from roof of City of Westminster School, London. Has participated in symposium Al Asmakh International Art Symposium in Doha, Qatar.