By Mursi Saad EL-Din I am not an artist, art critic or art historian. I am just one of those people who appreciate art, who visits art galleries and who tries to find meaning in what he sees. But I felt I should like to share my impressions of Mansoora Hassan's current exhibition of pulp paper paintings and mixed media renderings at Zamalek Gallery, titled "Luminous Echoes: Whispers from Siwa to Khyber", the third by the artist I have had the pleasure of seeing. Hassan's exhibition is more than just a collection of paintings which reflect the ability of the artist to use a number of materials to produce appealing works. Nor is it a merely trendy experiment in multi-media work. It has an underlying message which is reflected in the exhibition title. Hassan follows the footsteps of Alexander the Great from Siwa, where he identified himself with the Ancient Egyptian gods, to the Khyber Pass which is the birthplace of the artist herself. The variety of materials and images she uses -- including reproductions of mosques, Qur'anic verses, as well as photos of Ancient Egyptian monuments -- suggest that Hassan is keen to convey the noble idea of "a basic commonalty of spirit in an increasingly dissonant world", quoted in the exhibition catalogue, by " [using] an approach that depends on a tension between dimness and luminousity". I cannot, or dare not, discuss the highly complicated technique of pulp paper painting, or Hassan's mixture of natural colour pigments into finely beaten natural fibres. Neither can I explain the artist's handmade sheets of paper which act like a canvas where the pigmented pulp becomes the paint. I can only share what the artist herself told me during the pleasurable tour she gave me of her exhibition. She uses the fine pulp that settles on the surface to create the painting: the water in the pulp drains away, leaving behind layers of fine-textured fibre. She then dabs the surface with a cloth, applying various acrylic and iridescent pigments and oil. That is to say, first, an abstract painting is created on the surface. Afterwards, imagery is applied through various techniques and using various tools including copper plates. As the catalogue says, this is "imagery concealed in multiple veils". But, ultimately, technique aside -- and I am sure other non-specialists like myself might find the technical side of art mystifying and not easily comprehensible -- it is the final product that matters. Viewing the paintings, I was able to travel with Mansoora Hassan on the artistic journey from Siwa to the Khyber pass. It was a revealing and invigorating experience which underlined art's task in conveying a message. in this case it was a message that art can transcend political and geographical boundaries and can bring people together. A word about the artist herself: Mansoora Hassan was born in Peshawar, Pakistan. She received a Master's degree in fine Arts from Pratt Institute, New York. She has had over 50 exhibitions at major galleries (including one titled "From the Indus to the Nile" held in Cairo in February 2002), participated in the organisation of an exhibition held in Washington DC titled "Whispers from the Other River: Contemporary Artists from Egypt", and, in 2001, received the Biennale Prize at the eighth Cairo International Biennale. Mansoora Hassan is currently working on a series of multimedia works inspired by Sufi poetry and music, as well as on installation projects in response to the current political climate. She is a dynamic artist indeed, one with a universalistic vision.
