The Sea,… The Woman, …Arabic script, Symbols and indications of Mustafa Shakees’ sculptural works

 The marine environment of Lattakia and its inherited civilizational symbols have inspired and enriched the artistic experience of sculptor Mustafa Shakees for he considers himself a successor to the Phoenicians , and has to pursue the message of his ancestors at sea about love and life.

Mr.Shakees explained in an interview with SANA, that the sea is an essential element of nature , it has existed since the very beginning and there is no life on earth without it , so he watches the sea and embodies its beauty, and because he is the son of Latakia, it is natural for it to be shown in his sculptural works as a symbol that has its own connotations.

 The artist who is trying to integrate sculpture with Arabic calligraphy by showing the latter’s techniques in his sculptures, has showed that sculpting like the rest of the arts, is active and interacting with the  diversity and multiplicity of these arts, noting that its  association with the different arts is imperative to enrich the sculptural work..

Mr.Shakees believes that throughout history, the symbolic inspiration of sculptures remains the most important element of success through simplification and avoiding exaggeration when showing the elements of motherhood, love, fertility and giving, and intensifying significance, and glorifying  the idea,  as in cases of martyrdom, patriotism, and so on, so that sculptural work takes its sufficiency  of the inspiration  it needs.

Regarding the use of technology in sculpture, he says: ” The entry of the computer world into sculpture provided the opportunity to increase creativity in this field by entering sculptural artistic programs concerned with the optimal use of anatomy of the body, for example, and the possibility of introducing Arabic and foreign calligraphy and showing cases and human emotions depicted through what is called the third dimension ” 3D” in addition to the emergence of the so-called “CNC” technology , which stands for the sculptor, by completing dozens of copies of work simultaneously with high accuracy and less time and effort.

About the presence of women in his works, he shows that he demonstrated the symbolism of the female and the mother, the beloved, the fertility, the tender and the first homeland, considering that the woman’s body is always a surprising element and a main material for inspiration and creativity, stressing the necessity to deal with this human component skillfully, wisely and patiently to take-in  the opinions of those who reject the exaggerated embodiment of women .

It is worth noting that the artist Mustafa Shakees was born in Latakia. He is a retired civil engineer, painter, sculptor and poet and a member of the Syrian Plastic Artists Union, Lattakia Branch. He has specialized in wood and stone sculpture. He participated individually and collectively with most of the national art exhibitions  and private galleries for 35 years.

Amal Farhat