Last October’s issue of Saudi architecture magazine Al-Bena’a featured artist Ahmed Mustafa, a graphic designer, calligrapher, and a painter whom his major influence is the Holy Quraan. He studied graphic design in Egypt and then travelled to the UK for higher studies, and when asked about his identity, the answer was different from the one his works had had. So he decided to study his own identity and reflect it through his works.
This is a piece by Dr. Ahmed Mustafa illustrating Arabian numbers and Arabian letters; the letter ‘Alef’ which is ‘A’ on the right, and number ‘1′ on the left in a geometric pattern.
Now what I found interesting is his architectural approach through calligraphy and Quraan; he illustrates architecture through calligraphy through terms mentioned in the Quraan:
أَنِ اعْمَلْ سَابِغَاتٍ, وَقَدِّرْ فِي السَّرْدِ, وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ” سورة سبأ 11″
The first sentence urges for the ‘perfect deed’ relating that to the architect’s sense of perfection, and the second one translates to the term ‘Analogical Invariant’ which is the procedure that links the different parts of a project and creates ‘Coherence’ between them.
Secondly he mentions how the Quraan focuses on the term ‘Shadow’ and how important to an architect it is to concentrate on light and shadow:
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ وَلَوْ شَاء لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِنًا ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلًا ” سورة الفرقان 45″
The Eternal Landscape
Oil and watercolor on Velin Arches 125 x 76 cm, Inspired by the surah 3 verse 26, surah 59 verse 23 and surah 55 verse 27 of the Quraan
Interior In The Exterior
Oil and watercolor on handmade paper 125 x 76 cm, Inspired by the surah 2 verse 255 of the Quraan
But what I thought was really great is his cube study; there’s a teaching by Mohammed PBUH where he says that God’s names are 99 names, and then he says ‘1 to a hundred’. Now this might not mean much - its the same thing, but it turns out he found a relationship between that and the cube.
He built a cube of dimensions 10 x 10 x 10, and took 3 connected diagonals forming 1 corner of the cube, that rotates around a diagonal to reveal 99 squares; ‘1 to a hundred’!
The Attributes of Divine Perfection
Oil and watercolor on Velin Arches 130 x 116 cm, Inspired by a Hadith and background surah 2 verse 255 of the Quraan
I think this is absolutely brilliant!
The Invisible Warriors of Badr
Tapestry: 220 x 340 cm Woven by Pinton Studios, Felletin - Aubusson France, Inspired by the Surah 112 of the Quraan
You can see more of his works here.
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