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