CAIRO – With his brush he creates marvellous surreal worlds, which prompt the viewer to stop and think. His Sufi icons, with their strong colours and lines, are striking. He is Esmat Dawestashi, an Alexandrian artist who belongs to the Mediterranean Sea. Because he is Egyptian, Dawestashi's works are always related to his country, expressing concern for his fellow Egyptians. In his works, he features Egypt in many situations. He shows his country as it is, with all his likes and dislikes. When his son was wounded while protesting during the revolution, Dawestashi was moved to do a number of paintings of the revolution, which are displayed in his latest exhibition. "The artist doesn't criticise the political situation directly, but rather expresses his feelings, which may be against a political, social or moral problem from which he suffers in his country," Dawestashi told the Egyptian Mail in an interview. "Art is related to politics but in an indirect way. It tackle political issues positively and creatively.” In his latest exhibition, ‘Before and After the Revolution', held last month in the Extra Gallery in Cairo, Dawestashi introduced some of his fine works, which reflect the feelings and emotions that we lived before and after the revolution. “Before the revolution, we were feeling depressed. That's clearly reflected in my paintings of the Egyptian people before the revolution,” said the artist. After the revolution, the Egyptian people became more confident and their sense of patriotism rose. “People, for the first time in ages, felt that they were free. This sense of freedom is reflected in the works I have painted since the revolution," he added. Dawestashi graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria, 1967. He has had many articles published in the Plastic Arts Magazine, as well as writing poetry, short stories, scripts and works on art criticism. "I have written many books against Article 76 in the Egyptian Constitution [the 2005 revision of this article made it difficult for presidential candidates to run for office] and I have also attacked the inheritance of power in Egypt," the artist, who has also held many solo exhibitions, explained. Dawestashi became the director of Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts in 1993 and now he is the director of the Art Creativity Centre in Alexandria. "There are many plans to breathe new life into the Centre, in which we want to produce works, not just display them,” said Dawestashi, whose main concern is to focus on young people, as they were the pillar of the revolution. "We should help young people and encourage them to be creative," stressed the artist, who believes that now, these post-revolutionary days, is the time for art to flourish. "I believe that this revolution was more of a revolution of arts than a revolution of politics. Everywhere you turned in Al Tahrir Square and any other place where demonstrations were held, you could see artists. “They adorned the streets and walls with wonderful graffiti. This revolution was very artistic," he added, stressing that better is still to come. "We should have faith in our young people and their aspirations. They will guide Egypt safely to shore," the artist said hopefully.
