ABU DHABI, Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to the UAE President, has opened the “Feathers & Thoughts” exhibition in the presence of Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Arabic Language Centre at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
The event witnessed the attendance of Antoine Delcourt, Ambassador of Belgium to the UAE; Robert Lauer, Ambassador of Luxembourg to the UAE and the French Embassy representative in Abu Dhabi; Sultan Al Hajji, President of Alliance Française-Abu Dhabi; Franck Trouilloud, Director of the Alliance Française d’Abu Dhabi; Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Acting Executive Director of the ALC, and a crowd of businessmen, students and lovers of culture and art.
On this occasion, Nusseibeh said, “We are glad that this innovative exhibition, which has been conceived as a crossroad where the most profound forms of expression intersect in an innovative and intercultural spirit, highlighted the depth of intercultural relations between the Emirates and France. The Alliance Française Abu Dhabi, which has been established for nearly half a century, proved its ability to strengthen these distinguished fraternal relations, and build bridges between the Middle East and Europe, which carry out the fruitful collaboration of Arab and Western cultures.”
“The artist, Ayman Bazerbashe, has excelled in highlighting the Arabic Islamic calligraphy through the concepts linking the image with a concept, and letters with ideas. The chosen quotes belonged to many thinkers in the Middle East and even beyond, englobing logic and philanthropy, hope and despair, happiness, modesty and virtue, which constitute wise heritage expressions and phrases that contribute to the preservation of the Arabic language,” he added.
On his part, Trouilloud said, “It all started a few months ago when I discovered the creative work of Ayman Bazerbashe, a calligraphy artist residing in Dubai, inspired by a work based on a maxim written by Plato in the setting of an ancient dialogue: ‘Wisdom begins in wonder’, and that’s when the philosophical-calligraphic magic began.
“The result, breathtaking in its grace and beauty, is not only a transcription in Arabic or an illustration of philosophical thought: it embodies it and, by mixing disciplines and languages that were previously discordant, creates a completely new artistic object, at the crossroads of genres and cultures. From this incredible success, other calligraphies are born, forming a total of thirty original executions that are considered as either a form of intelligence in movement or as a reflection of the passage of thought to its word form.”
The “Feathers & Thoughts or The World’s Soul” exhibition is being held at Alliance Française Abu Dhabi until 31st January 2023. The exhibition is a philosophical and calligraphic cultural exhibition designated for all ages, for art enthusiasts, language students, curious individuals and those familiar with French Alliances of the world. An educational booklet as well as calligraphy workshops will accompany it.
Source: Emirates News Agency