Amsterdam’s Young Collectors Circle series “Art of Collecting” brings to light the personal relationships between a collector and their favorite artwork.

The Collector

Hamid Sallali is an art director and graphic designer.

The Artwork

This work is by Onorato & Krebs and is called “Desert Street” and is from the series “The Great Unreal”. The image immediately appealed to me – it was a gut feeling. It calms me down, it inspires me and I recognize something in it I still need to discover. Or rather, what I still could discover. It creates room for imagination and dreaming. Besides that, I’ve dreamed of making a road trip through the US since my childhood. It’s still on my bucket list and this picture reminds me of that dream.

I bought this picture at Foam Editions during a dynamic period in my life, when I was standing at a crossroads and not quite sure yet which way to go. That wasn’t easy. In the end I chose the road of my dreams and followed my ambition. “Desert Street” is symbolic for that – where there’s a will, there’s a way! Oddly enough the road in the picture is not an actual highway, it’s a manipulated (miniature) road that was placed in front of the lens. What a beautiful metaphor!

The piece still inspires me to keep looking towards the future. Anything is possible, as long as you believe there’s a way. And if there isn’t, you’ll just have to create one.

Create a desktop folder and rotate images as your desktop wallpaper. That’s how I found out which images had a long-term appeal for me and which didn’t.

HAMID SALLALI

The Collection

Apart from this work I also have photographs by Mischa de Ridder and Luke Stephenson. I feel that I’m mostly drawn to tranquil, serene images. I think that’s because my everyday work is very visual, and to me home is a neutral space where I find peace. This is not a conscious choice, but it’s just who I am. With peaceful images, whether they are landscapes or very abstract, undefined compositions, I can use my imagination more. I identify with them, whilst at the same time making up my own story for them. Peace, inspiration and aesthetics: that’s what draws me in.

I don’t save up for art, I’m an impulse buyer as far as art is concerned. I find a lot of art online. My wish list contains a large photograph by Syoin Kajii from the “Nami” series. Kajii is a Japanese monk who spends hours on an island taking extraordinary close-ups of waves. What I like about it is that it’s something you usually see accompanied by a lot of rage and sound and maybe you even see it as danger, but he manages to make it look almost peaceful. It’s really wonderful! It immediately spoke to me.

Tips & Tricks

Start a digital collection of work that speaks to you. Create a desktop folder and rotate images as your desktop wallpaper. That’s how I found out which images had a long-term appeal for me and which didn’t.

The “Art of Collecting” series is an initiative of the Young Collectors Circle and Laura Hein.