Modern ambitions of calligrapher's ancient art

Syrian calligrapher Khaled al-Saai talks about curating this year's Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial.

Syrian curator and calligrapher Khaled al-Saai looks intently at the stark painting of a man holding a horizontal scimitar - a sabre with a curved blade - fashioned out of carefully crafted Arabic letters. It spells out the phrase "If Words Could Kill" and, for Saai, this graphic, modern work by Iraqi artist Ayad al-Kadhi, dovetails neatly with the theme of Sharjah's Calligraphy Biennial.

"It suggests that elaborately ornamented writing has dimensions that ordinary painting often can't achieve." As well as the demanding discipline of Arabic calligraphy to illustrate verses from the Koran, the fifth edition of the Gulf emirate's large exhibition has plenty of modern and contemporary works from around the globe.

Between traditional and contemporary

Two months of workshops, conferences, lectures, and visits to local art institutions, Sharjah's broad-minded approach brings together calligraphers from Japan, the US, Europe, and China who learn techniques from their Arabic counterparts.

The exhibition has plenty of modern and contemporary works from around the globe.

Chinese calligrapher Tai Xiangzhou whose innovative digital work, Observing the Heaven, Knowing the Earth, is based on the patterns of constellations that were used as the basis for Chinese script.

"This is an interactive, multi-media piece that doesn't require the onlooker to understand Chinese," Tai points out.

Chinese calligrapher Tai Xiangzhou
is convinced that art transcends language

Touching the screen activates the heavenly bodies. It is an opportunity for everyone to connect with the cosmos whatever their language."

According to British-based, Iraqi artist Sabah Arbilli who produced original and exciting work, including a giant thumb print, humility as well as a desire to appeal to a wider audience underscores his approach. "I am somewhere in the middle between traditional and contemporary," he explains.

"Using classical script but laid out so as to attract an audience that might not otherwise pay attention to calligraphy."

Modern calligraphy combines an ancient art with new themes

Source: BBC News Middle East