Last week, the Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel hosted an exhibition by one of Egypt's youngest spontaneous artists. Rania Khallaf remained baffled by the iron statues Sculptor Halim Makram's 10-day exhibition was held in the front garden of the Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel, thus giving him a superb chance to mingle with his audience. Makram, an ironsmith who works in Sharm El-Sheikh, started sculpting at an early age when, as a child, he would help his mother bake dough, or play with mud with his chums in his village, Toukh, Qalioubiya governorate. Mud, stone, iron and old nails were the stuff of his first creations, materials he found lying about in the village. Simple though they were, they helped launch his career as a sculptor. Makram exhibited his work for the first time in 2004, just a few months after the death of his mother, "I found myself in a kind of self- imposed isolation, and I surprised myself with some unique ideas about life, death and the speedy departure of our loved ones," he says.Makram left full-time education when he was 15 to help with the family finances by working as an apprentice blacksmith. His ironwork statues have since been made without any supervision by senior artists. Makram name his mentors as Abdel-Badie Abdel-Hai, an established spontaneous artist who excels in stone sculpture, and Salah Abdel-Karim, a brilliant artist who was the first in the Arab world to be recognised as a sculptor in iron.Makram has not yet registered as a member of the Plastic Art Syndicate. "I am only a registered artist on the syndicate's website; but I should be a member after a couple of years," he says. The syndicate's law stipulates that a spontaneous artist should spend no less than seven years working in the field and exhibiting before becoming a member. The exhibition held recently in the Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel featured around 15 pieces. Varying in size, they reflected different moods and subjects: Makram has a special interest in depicting such vastly different subjects as birds, folk costumes pertaining to modern Egyptian history, especially the early years of the 19th century -- the tarboosh (fez) and galabiya (kaftan) -- and military brass bands. "I am against the idea of vanishing," he says. "I always search for my Egyptian identity, my own roots, and I like to make them the subject of my work." He pictured the fairly old rituals of Egyptians, such as the traditional art of Tahtib (dancing with sticks) through visions gleaned from frequent visits to his village and surrounding villages, as well as national art galleries.The exhibition is called "Looking for Freedom", which is also the title of one huge piece. "It took me about six months to visualise, design and work on the piece in my humble workshop in Sharm El-Sheikh," Makram says. Although he is a new artist, Makram counts on exhibitions to sell or market his works. "I can't show my pieces in shops because I believe in the value of my work, which really takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish," he says.Another amazing sculpture on show was "Peace and War", which depicts a powerful iron hand holding a pigeon. The statue, which is 35x75cm, looks beautiful but it conceals a tensed relationship between the hand and the pigeon. The bomb in the bottom right under the hand quietly diffuses, while dead bodies are dispersed here and there."This piece raises questions about the existence of real peace and freedom around the world, which looks much like a lost dream," Makram says. Although himself a Copt, Makram prefers not to depict religious icons in his works. "I respect Coptic and Islamic art, but I think I am more associated with Egyptian society as a whole. I am fascinated with simple Egyptian people, mulids [local religious celebrations] and traditional arts," he says.Born in 1981, Makram refuses to varnish his talent with study. "I fear that something will go wrong with my brain if I study art," he says. "I prefer to remain as I am, a talented Egyptian peasant," he smiles. "I have tried to use wood as a material, but it is iron that I love most. Iron suits my fingers better. It is like paper in my hand, and I am happy with it."Since 2004 Makram has completed 56 pieces. He plans to hold his next exhibition at the American University in Cairo; it will be entitled "The Egyptian Identity". "I also have a dream of holding workshops for children, to teach them how to use simple material like paper and mud to make beautiful shapes, because I believe that art is a built-in component in the Egyptian character," he says.
