Yazji’s experiment in wood sculpture simulates giving, hope , fertility and greatness of women

 “Art is an essential issue  in life because every country  is promoted through art and artists. It addresses meaningful messages including  tolerance , love, patience , giving and creativity.  It is necessary to enjoy art because those who are interested in art have a delicate sense. Art is an endless expressive state through which feelings and ideas  of human beings’ are reflected ” the sculptor  Maha Yazji  said in an interview with the Syriatimes e-newspaper.   

The sculpture, who is from Lattakia province, underlined that she challenged herself through her sculpture works  on wood and stone and ceramic artworks using simple tools as a chisel and a hammer.  

“ Wood is a hard block with  all its  kinds, whether it is olive, lemon or walnut.  Olive is  a gift from God which  gives beauty to the sculpture and the way of  dealing  with it is smooth and it  forms a state of harmony” she added.   

 It is necessary for artists , according to sculptor  Yazji  to convey  feelings of happiness, hope ,  tolerance and a refined spirit  despite the difficult conditions  which we face  through artworks.   

“My sculpture works  belong to different  art schools  mainly the realistic expressionist school and express various ideas in different fields  of life such as strength, courage, dream and heritage as  Syria is rich and famous for its deep-rooted civilizations” she said.  

“I made a  sculpture  representing the  Ugarit gate ,  wheat  spikes, the Ugaritic jar and a board  including Ugaritic letters.  My second sculpture represented  the ancient little sheep  discovered in Ugarit”   Yazji said.  

She said  that the Ministry of Tourism took the two sculpture works  to be displayed in exhibitions.   

The female, according to the sculptor  signifies giving, striving, life, and gentleness so her  French zirconium wood sculptor   represented   the goddess of fertility Ishtar carrying blossom  as it  is a symbol of  germination and a new spirit.

Another sculpture  work depicted  a woman leaning on the shoulder of a person, where she finds safety, peace and stability.  While the ancient porcelain iron  embodied ancient heritage.  

“The man is distinguished by strength, so I made an  old man sculpture from lemon trees .  No matter how old the man was, he remained distinguished by strength. I made a wreath of vine trees to represent hair, as the vine is the symbol of giving and renewal” Yazji described.   

She underlined that  “we were all waiting during the  nine-year Syrian  crisis, so I made a  sculpture that represented  a person who waited long and birds built the nests  on the man’s shoulders due to  the long wait”.   

The sculptor   participated in many  local exhibitions and due  to Corona epidemic  she  participated  via internet in a number of exhibitions  such as  the Al-Sham International Cultural Forum and the Creative Electronic Exhibition “Gaza Resist”,  

“The Syrian woman was and still  is strong, and she has been struggling for years and  despite the difficult circumstances   she managed  to  be unique in society ,  delivered a meaningful message and occupied important positions across civilizations” sculptor  Yazji concluded. 

Interviewed by : Rawaa Ghanam  

Photos by : Rawaa Ghanam