The graduating students from the School of Fine Arts in El-Zamalek, Cairo, blew our minds this year with some fascinating graduation projects.
The graduation projects this year combined the personal experiences of the students with a graceful taste of academic esthetics to create tasteful pieces of fine art.
We interviewed two of the students to tell us about the inspiration, the personal experiences, and the labor they exerted into their graduation projects.
Mariam’s graduation project “Surrender”: Your words are cutting my flesh
This self-portrait stands particularly elegant with thorough attention given to the details, explaining the stunning vibes of fine arts that shines out of the painting. Starting with the heroine of the painting, we can sense the weight of defeat and surrender on her face and with the position of her arms.
In addition to it is the mother’s traditional modern Egyptian clothing, as well as how she looks to her daughter while cutting her flesh with a pair of scissors, thinking she is taking care of her.
Mariam describes the experience of making this self-portrait:
The concept of the project is a very personal experience that resembles the experiences of so many others. We receive negative comments about our shape continuously. People always have an opinion about how we should look and represent ourselves, and sometimes it cuts through the flesh of our thoughts.
Which art school inspires your work?
I think the realism school influenced my artistic style the most. I love how it always discusses the current social issues shamelessly.
Which artist influences your artistic style the most?
I cannot say that there is a specific artist that inspires my work more than others, but Francisco Goya‘s work always fascinates me the most.
Mariam’s graduation project has been receiving a lot of attention on social media, so we asked her how she felt about this:
In the beginning, it was scary, but then I was filled with joy, knowing that my art delivered my vision and feelings to the audience.
Follow Mariam’s Facebook account Mariam Samir to see more of her art!
Nada’s sculpture “Self-abasement”: the fluidity of emotions in art
The humanoid figure of the sculpture is melting but the lines, shapes, and sizes of its components are smooth and consistent, giving the sculpture a very refined profile.
Abstract expressionism is the school of art that played the biggest role in developing Nada’s artistic taste, and further expressing different techniques and styles.
“The art fascinations that were born from the womb of the expressionism wave communicate with me on a deep and personal level,” said Nada.
Which artist influenced your esthetics the most?
So many artists influenced my esthetics, but there’s no one specific that has a major influence. One of the artists I love the most is Abdelhady El-Weshahy.
Comparing some of El-Weshahy’s work in the above picture to Nada’s project, we can click on the areas of influence the artist imposed on Nada’s work.
The polished technique used in Nada’s art piece makes you think what could have been of this piece if it was made from different materials with a more delicate sensation such as wood, marble, or metal.
What material did you use to make this sculpture? And what materials do you want to work with in the future?
I used clay because that’s the graduation project requirements and the school provides it.
I want to work with all kinds of materials in different techniques and approaches to create diverse compositions in the future.
Why did you choose sculpture as your artistic expression? Why not painting for instance?
I chose the sculpture department in the School of Fine Arts because I communicate with my visions in 3D images.
Painting restricts me to a frame I would express my vision in but I won’t be able to break the painting frame. Sculpture on the other hand gives me more freedom in a 3D world where I can live with the mass, touch it, and create a link between the mass and its surroundings with zero restrictions.
Follow Nada’s Instagram nadaabdelkariem to follow her work!