Rania Khallaf came across an amazingly new artistic talent in the world of plastic art today The other day I was strolling through Zamalek on Gezira Island, one of central Cairo's more exclusive areas, where one can barely take a few steps before stumbling upon a new art gallery, when I found Zourkhana, a new gallery and workshop which provides art courses, lectures and services to all ages. Balad Al-Banat (Country of Young Girls) is the name of its current exhibition, and all the participants are young female artists. The exhibits, which reflect their special view of art and life, are, generally speaking, amazing and quite unique. One painting, however, took my breath away. It was an illustration, which does not have a title or even reflect a definite theme, by Amira Maher, a fresh graduate of the Fine Arts College at Helwan University. Maher, who graduated last year, has a unique and surprising style. A graduate of the animation section, she adopts a unique style; a simple caricature outline with characteristic Egyptian features. The light colours of the painting make it so cheerful that it infuses one with energy; I almost wanted to jump about for joy, and on my way back home I felt like dancing in the street. Is this the magical effect of a young artist's fresh talent and her enthusiasm and passion for art and life? I hope that time will not cause it to fade away. Maher's work was shown in an exhibition for graduates and students of the animation section in 2010. The exhibition was "Amusement", and was a product of a workshop in real amusement park organised by the college. In 2011 she showed at the Youth Salon Exhibition at the Cairo Opera House. Her simple style is characterised by caricature-like figures and simple lines featuring the background or the details of a certain scene. "I tend to draw the human figures in a larger size compared with other details of the painting to confirm that people are the real heroes in this world, not the materialistic things," she says. Maher is quiet and smiles a great dal. Nowadays she is involved in the publication of her first book for children. The book, Skimmed, will feature her characteristic outlines, a style that is fairly new in the artistic scene in Egypt. It tells the story of a young woman whose thoughts on her wedding day turn to her memories of her grandparents, as she lost her parents as a small girl. She remembers the first journey she set out on with her grandfather and the first gift she received from her grandmother, and she wishes they were young enough to accompany her to the places she still loves such as parks and the circus The bride promises herself that she will do all the things she misses with her future children. "My aim is to revive the value of memories; as memories are part of our own existence in life. They don't die out as we grow older," Maher says. "In general I like to listen to old stories, and to my parents' memories about that good old days when life was much easier and family bonds were much stronger. "My plan is to build a career in the world of children's books. I wish to help change the style of children's books to be more interactive. I really hate this traditional way of storytelling where the job of the child as a reader is only to browse the pages." She believes the idea of multimedia tools could be applied to children's books, and that they can compete with computer games if they are well written and attractively published. "I want kids to enjoy reading," she says. "I want reading to be an interesting and joyful journey for kids, and I want books to be the child's best friend in life," she explained. Maher is planning a series of children's books on the concept of politics and its relation to our routine activities in life. "I want children to regain the values of belonging to their families, their schools and their country." Children, she continued with greater enthusiasm, need to learn to appreciate the meaning of home and family and to understand that family is synonymous with country. Maher boasts the fact that she graduated in the year of the Revolution. "I feel freer now; my outlines have become more spontaneous and bold than before," she says with a beaming smile. Maher is so entranced with the theme of chairs that she accomplished a project in 2010 entitled "Chairs Everywhere" ("Karasi fi Kraasi"). "I used to love portraying chairs; different kinds of chairs: office chairs, those used in caf��s, or dining chairs, and I believe that each one has a different character. "The Revolution, however, made me rethink the theme again: what happens when politicians sit on the chairs of political power? Do chairs have such a supreme influence on politicians that they convert them into corrupt and heartless beings?" The answer is "Yes," because there is less beauty and creativity in our society. In any case it is a real puzzle, and it is our hope that the new generation of artists will infuse more beauty into our lives in the years to come.
