FROM the coastal city of Alexandria they came, bringing with them their modern day interpretations of old issues. Fascinated by history, the past has served as a great inspiration for their work. The three artists in question are Sarkis Tossoonian, Alfons Louis and Saeed Badr. In his work, Tossoonian goes beyond the material world of humans and focuses on their desires and feelings. "I love the human being. I like using him in my works. The body of human being can easily expresses problems in a noble way," the sculptor told The Egyptian Gazette. Tossoonian's works show bronze sculptures of people in different situations and he uses the human body to create symbolic concepts, like freedom and liberation. In his sculptures "Freedom I & II" for example, the artist has tried to focus on the spiritual meaning by using the human body as a window to the soul. "My figures are something like Greco-Roman shapes," he added. Born in Alexandria in 1953, Tossoonian graduated from the Alexandria University's Faculty of Arts in 1979. "Any work I made holds its own meaning and structure. My main focus is on what he may say by his body," the artist mentioned. Tossoonian has participated in many international exhibitions in Egypt and abroad, most notably winning the first prize at the seventh Port-Said Nation Biennial in 2005. Like Tossoonian, Afons Louis's work is also full of symbolic meaning. Born in 1959 and graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria in 1986, his work is inspired by the environment he lives in, most notably the use of objects washed up by the sea. "I'm living in Alexandria, which they call ‘the bride of the Mediterranean Sea'. I always like sitting on the shores and watching the sea. It keeps many secrets and it also gives. It gives wood and things that was one day sank," Louis told this newspaper. In his work ‘Journey from pre-history to Islamic Era', Louis uses old wood embellished by ornaments and drawings, to give a fresh interpretation of the history of Egypt. "I like everything old, that's why I collect all the old woods that come from the sea and use it in my works," Louis added. "This work is a compound one as I painted and made sculpture. In this work I show the great history of Egypt from prehistory to the Islamic era. If you back to history you'll find that many great countries occupied Egypt and invaded it, but no country affected it," the artist explained. "We always kept our history and never changed," said the artist who has participated in over 40 local and international exhibitions. The third artist, Saeed Badr, was born in 1965. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alexandria University and also a PhD in the ‘Art of Stone Sculpture' (2004) from the Academy of Karrary of Art in Italy, Badr is certainly highly qualified. His work is made from black basalt, which is then decorated with Pharaonic-like ornaments. "My works are an attempt to revive the Rosetta Stone. You'll see that all works are look like these stone," Badr added. "I want to introduce my idea in a modern way. My exhibition has many themes like An event of History, The message of human on earth, the history of a city and old historical places," Badr said. The ornaments Badr places on his sculptures are from many languages including Chinese, Pharaonic and Latin. The type of ornament changes from one sculpture to the next, meaning every sculpture has a unique pattern of touch and colour and therefore creates a new harmony for the viewer. "I used languages from all over the world because it's a message for all humans in this era," he said.
The exhibition, which is being held at the Safar Khan Art Gallery, 6, Brazil St., Zamalek Tel: 02/27353314, runs until January 27. It is open daily from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 1:30pm and from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.
