When fire meets metal, oxides metamorphose into brilliant amalgams of pigmentation. Stone, however, remains unchanged. And every time, you get something truly different, as seen in Mohamed
Abla's new sculpture works, presented at Gallery Misr.
“I hadn't sculpted in 25 years, but
when I started I saw that I had quite a lot of technique and I could
really work,” he says. During his training as a visual
arist, Abla studied sculpture for one year in Switzerland with
sculptor and poet Paul Grass. With exercises on techniques, learning the sense of each material became more like play.
He learned how to meditate and develop a greater level of patience, an asset that, according to Grass, is essential to be a sculptor.
After one year, the fruit of this labor produced an award winning “Sisyphus” statue, which can now be seen in Walsrode in northern Germany.
He learned how to meditate and develop a greater level of patience, an asset that, according to Grass, is essential to be a sculptor.
After one year, the fruit of this labor produced an award winning “Sisyphus” statue, which can now be seen in Walsrode in northern Germany.
Abla is especially fascinated by fire
with its transformative ability, and stone with its
enduring, unchanging form and composition. The stone pieces are naturally found in his surroundings on long walks in the desert around
the Fayoum oasis
On Egyptian artists who have influenced him, he
cites Abdel Hadi ElWechahi, who touched him with "his view of himself
as doing heroic and noble work"; Sobhi Girgis, who made him love sculpture
because "he saw it as a mixture of joy, purity and simplicity"; the faces of sculptor Ahmed Abdel Wahab also
captivated him. As he explains in the exhibition notes: “all this I have been gathering.. all that, to come back now and
present what I have been able to produce over a year of play,
patience and a desire to own the space and leave my impact on it."
"For me, every piece caries its own
special story, and recounts the secrets it contains.. the secrets of materials and their transformation through heat,
manipulation and sculpting."
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According to Abla, sculptors and
artists in general take themselves too seriously. The creative process in art is all about play, and if
it departs from play it becomes something else, but not art. "You have to let go.. and play with the material."
Contemporary sculpture in Egypt, he says, tends
to be limited, as it follows closely the style of pioneer sculptors like Adam
Henein. Even thought the Aswan symposium gathers sculptors from all
over the world for a yearly exchange of ideas and know-how, Abla sees that the artists sculpting today tend to stick to one
style and are moot to experimentation.
He loves forms
that are natural, that express something about Naure and Humanity. "Yes. There
is this concern that if we keep going [the way we are now], we may destroy the earth."
His inspired new collection is a fresh
start in a new direction for this seasoned artist and painter. Follow ALOHA Cairo to see where the collection will show
next.
