São Paulo – The Arab world, its art, calligraphy, religion, clothes and customs will be the theme of a talk to take place on Tuesday (2) and Wednesday (3), in Palhoça, Santa Catarina. The topic will be covered by Moroccan artist Abdelaziz Bahsain, who has worked in Portugal and Spain, and has been living in Brazil for the last three years.
“Calligraphy is a form of artistic language,” says the artist. Arab streets, cities and customs are frequent themes of the pictures by Bahsain, who also paints abstract pictures. To him, it is important for people to know more about Arab culture so that they may “start seeing it in another way or change their train of thought about the Arab world,” he said, referring to the negative image of the region that is often transmitted by the media.
The talk takes place at ViaCatarina shopping centre, where up to Friday (6) an exhibition will be taking place, showing works by Bahsain and also typical garments from Arab nations. “We bring clothes from Lebanon, Syria and Morocco. We have set up a scenery into which people may enter and feel they are in an Arab country,” he explained. At the fair, visitors may wear the garments or take pictures of them, as well as having their names written in Arabic.
Originally from Tetouan, Bahsain studied at the School of Fine Arts of Morocco. At 19 years of age, he went to Portugal, where he worked as a painter and decorator. That was where he met his wife, a Brazilian.
The artist has also lived in Spain. That was where he was named ambassador of the Friends of Gaudí Association, in Reus, in which modernist Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí was born. “I had a line of work connected to Gaudí’s,” said the Moroccan.
In Brazil, he has already participated in fairs like Mãos da Terra, an international culture and handicraft fair that takes place in the south of the country, and in Mercado Persa, an Arab culture event that takes place in the city of São Paulo, every year.
His pictures are painted in varied techniques, ranging from oil to India ink. The artist currently has 50 works available for exhibition. His work is sold in several shops in Santa Catarina and also abroad. “I have clients who got in contact with me from Arab countries,” he said.
Service
Talk by Abdelaziz Bahsain
October 2 and 3
From 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Site: Cultural area of Shopping ViaCatarina
Avenida Atílio Pedro Pagani, 270
Palhoça – Santa Catarina
Price: R$ 10 (US$ 4.50)
Seats: 50
Tickets may be bought at the gate
The exhibition of art and typical garments may be viewed up to October 6, for free.
*Translated by Mark Ament
