Osama Kamal views an exhibition by artist Galal Gomaa who uses the two very different substances of natural pebbles and man-made wire to pleasing effect There were no titles to any of the works in Galal Gomaa's recent exhibition. He did not want to interfere with the thoughts of his audience as they pondered his creations, which all made use of unusual materials. The exhibition, fittingly called Wire and Pebbles, was held from 9 to17 October in the Music Library at the Cairo Opera House. It featured 34 pieces, all made of -- no surprise here -- wire and pebbles. The pebble pieces I found to be relaxing, emitting a sense of intimacy, like a throwback to a close-knit family and friends. There was a sense of yearning in his composition and a perfect smoothness that denoted warmth and proximity. Some pebble formations took animal forms, symbolising life at its true beginnings. Gomaa uses no colour in his formations, just the natural colours of the pebbles in shades of brown and yellow. He says that the beauty of pebbles is in their natural shape and colour. There is also something special and interesting in their surface. Gomaa sees himself as a conduit through which the pebbles pass to reach a final destination, emerging from the silence of reality to the symbolism of art. There is no pretension in his work and he keeps the complexity to a minimum. He wants to offer a new reality, but without straying too far from his references in the natural world. As a child, Gomaa collected pebbles, and since then he has developed a fascination for this medium. A graduate of the College of Applied Arts in the class of 1975, Gomaa became an interior designer while continuing to paint and create three dimensional art pieces. His first exhibition, Natural Inspirations, was held in 1986 at the Nasr City Culture House. Since then he has exhibited at the Cairo Cultural Department (1987), The French Cultural Centre (1987 and 2004), the Sawi Culture Wheel (2007 and 2009), and Durub (2009). His training in interior design helped Gomaa to master the use of a wide range of materials from iron and other metals to glass. He says that wire, a material he has been experimenting with for 10 years or so, is particularly enticing because it can be shaped without the need for welding. Gomaa creates two and three dimensional shapes with wire, with which he is profoundly fascinated. He likes the fact that wires are immensely sturdy but also malleable, and that they come in different thicknesses. Amid the unnamed pieces in the exhibition one can identify clearly the shapes of a horse, giraffe, ostrich, gazelle, donkey, bull, serpent, peacock, and a fish, all fashioned of wire and pebbles. The anatomy is fascinatingly accurate, and yet Gomaa seems to infuse his creations with an intensity of purpose. Gomaa, who works on large pieces for six hours or so per day, says that he has to turn his eyes from his creations at intervals to give his mind a rest and to be able to see them with a fresh eye. The simplicity of his formations offer a refreshing approach to artistic expression, since there is a certain purity in his pieces, a revival of primitive forms, and a connection with nature. He does not like to be compared with the uncrowned master of scrap metal, Salah Abdel-Karim. He says that the materials they use are not at all the same and that their artistic paths are also quite different. The late psychology guru Mostafa Suwief used to say that the aim of art was to form a link between the artist and the audience, to remove the hurdles between them, and to aid the flow of feelings and opinions. This is something that Gomaa seems to appreciate. I noticed that he was keen to see the reaction of his pieces on ordinary, non-specialised viewers. His favourite reaction came from a six-year-old boy called Adam, who wrote in the visitors' book: "I liked the pebbles, really liked them." Gomaa has a permanent exhibit at Gallery Durub in Garden City. He also leads a children workshop on wire sculpture at the Cairo Opera House.
