co-founders of Wamda Light Calligraphy, are currently the only two doing it Egypt, but they’re working with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) to change that.
“Wamda is a spark of light,” said El-Ghawas.”We chose this name for our team as it represents hope and guidance, just like how hopeful our team is.”
El-Ghawas, a dental medicine student in her junior year at Pharos University in Alexandria, has long been interested in calligraphy. In 2011 she won first place in a contest sponsored by BA’s Calligraphy Center,
called “Revolution in the Eyes of Arabic Calligraphy.” Realizing her talent, her family encouraged her to study at the calligraphy school.
Elsammak, a professional photographer and graphic designer who has exhibited in Egypt and Italy, shares El-Ghawas’ passion for calligraphy and arts. Taking inspiration from the work of French artist and light calligrapher Julian Breton and Egyptian artist Hassan Massoudy, they decided to combine their interest with photography and design.
“The first time we started mixing calligraphy, light and photography was for Amira’s graduation project for the faculty of Fine Arts,” said El-Ghawas.”Her graduation project was called Amshaq (Arabic calligraphy and Arts institute).”
The final artwork looks effortless, with the words flying in the air like stars in the sky. But process requires a lot of preparation. “We searched for the equipment and I also started searching for calligraphy to get ideas for the designs,” El-Ghawas says. “After I made the designs, I started practicing doing them and then we searched for good places where we could take our photos and Amira captured my calligraphy design pieces.”
El-Ghawas first designs the shape of the letters and sentences then practices the motions to make the designs in the air. She mainly uses large emergency lights but says she could use any type or size of light. To turn the motion into art, Elsammak says she must manually adjust her camera’s shutter speed, aperture and ISO (light sensitivity) settings to suit both the design and the location of the shot. “As we take the photo, the camera only captures the lights and the fixed objects,” she says, explaining why you only see the words, not Khadiga in the finished images. “While writing, Khadiga moves a lot. The camera can only capture her shadow if she is moving slowly.” The photographer says it could take up to three shots to get the perfect images, but they often get it right the first time because El-Ghawas practices a lot beforehand.
The Amshaq project caught the attention of some important backers. “After it was shown to public, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s Calligraphy Center gave us the chance to give the first light calligraphy course,” El- Ghawas explains, “and we started working by the name Wamda from that moment.”
This past April, the Wamda team started their light calligraphy courses to, as El-Ghawas explains, “teach the youth this new art and also to get new ideas into developing it.”
Soon they’ll be able to recruit new members for Wamda, which hopes to incorporate light calligraphy in not only every branch of art, but also commercial endeavors such as advertising and publishing.
“We’re planning on launching an art gallery,” El-Ghawas continues “and just as with any other type of art, we will introduce our opinions throughout this spark of light in any place in our country and under any conditions.” et
Where to find Wamda
Facebook page: Khadiga El-Ghawas Light Calligraphy
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