Interweaving past and modern life

AMMAN — Interweaving past with modern cultural aesthetics, Sudanese artist Abdul Qader Bakheit present the Nile River as “the source of all civilisations” in his exhibition “The Nile Breeze”.

“It is a geographical location that supports various cultures and traditions,” Bakheit told The Jordan Times.

The exhibition focuses on culture from that region and the woman, who according to Bakheit, “play an integral part of this world”.

“Most of my works include the presence of the female. The woman symbolises life; life without her is not complete, to me she represents stability,” Bakheit said.

To bring the essence of the Nile’s culture into his art, Bakheit used carpets as his canvas.

“Each year I try to use different mediums and this year I decided to integrate carpet into my works,” Bakheit said, “I worked on carpet known as ‘birsh’ that is made of a specific type of tree leaves. This kind of carpet is very commonly used in countries surrounding the Nile such as Egypt and Sudan at weddings, to sleep on, for prayer and for sitting in general.”

The exhibition also includes works in acrylic on canvas and watercolour on paper, all created during the past four years.

Bakheit, who currently resides in Jordan, said that there needs to be continuous experimentation for the technique used to be seamlessly integrated within the context of the work.

The exhibition runs at Dar Al Anda Art Gallery until May 27.