 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Silver whispers
AHMED Badawi's masterpieces of adornment combine elements of the Pharaonic heritage with a resolute modernism, writes Reham El-Adawi.Amid crowds of covetous would-be purchasers, connoisseurs and collectors, Badawi's exhibition, "Jewellery Chatting with Nature," currently showing at Al-Duroub Gallery in Garden City, includes 60 bold and delicate gold and silver pieces studded with precious and semi-precious stones: ruby, topaz, turquoise, emerald...
Art should be beautiful as well as useful: this slogan has guided Badawi, who received his PhD in industrial design from Germany's Wuppertal University and is currently a visiting professor at the Arts Academy there. "My works can be worn every day," he explains. This fact, to him, is as important as their aesthetic appeal. Actor Nour El-Sherif, who inaugurated the exhibition, said he had never seen such original works.
The moment Badawi's eye falls upon a gem, his imagination is on fire, and he automatically begins to think of a design that will suit the cut and colour of that particular stone.
The influence of nature on these designs cannot be missed: birds, insects, animals, plants and sometimes the human body feature consistently. Gold and silver bracelets adorned with turquoises and emeralds, found in the tomb of Khufu's mother, provide inspiration. Ornaments dating back to the Middle Kingdom, shaped like birds, flowers and other living creatures, are also part of the heritage on which Badawi draws. A bird-shaped gold brooch, studded with precious stones and stained glass, was among the treasures of Tutankhamun.
Although Badawi's Egyptian heritage is part and parcel of his identity, his sophistication allows him to avoid both imitation and fey primitivism. It is, on the whole, a highly successful reincarnation.
Photos: Youssri Aql
