Nancy Oteifa
Kuwait times newspaper

EL- Maghraby opens closed doors
and revives old methods

Walls talk in Mahmoud El-Maghraby 's exhibition, which was held on may 30 in Bushahri art gallery. El Maghraby is a talented formative artist and his exhibition, which was attended by a large host of art enthusiasts and the Egyptian ambassador Abdel Rahem Shalaby, depicted just how coveted his artwork truly is.

The Egyptian ambassador noted the importance of cultural activities, saying “ cultural intercourse is a very important issue in bilateral exchange because it's method of bridging tow cultures”.

“I'm always keen on attending such events even if I am busy because the cultural exchange between Kuwait and Egypt is on good terms and this is what leads to an excellent relationship between the tow countries. We always seek to keep this relationship between the tow countries at its best,” he added.

El-maghraby is an Egyptian who lived in Egypt and was affected by its culture and folklore, which is quite obvious in his drawing. He graduated from the faculty of fine arts' graphic department.

“Most of my drawings are done via applying the medium of zincography, and they depict the old part of Egypt., the cultural and folkloric Egypt . My message is to maintain the medium of zincography as a fine and wonderful art that it is and not forget it. Everyone seems to be moving toward new artistic techniques and forgotten this old and traditional medium, especially in the gulf area.

He explained that he used the colours black and red for the frames because the tow colours reflect the interior image of the drawing. “ We shouldn't forget our old places and we must keep them in our mind all the time,” he said.

He used the colours red and gold in his drawings because he wants to refer to the old discotheques in Egypt . “ The main aim of this paintings is the dreams of the ordinary low class people living in Egypt . Those people's dreams are sketched on their walls because this is the only way they can express their feelings,” he added.

What's very common in his paintings are the reference to old doors and this could reflect such ideas as injustice and the lack of freedom, on the other hand, doors could represent the beauty of old Egyptian architecture.

Referring to the difficulties of this type or art, he said, “Although it is hard, it's also exiting and interesting.

Zincography depends on the imagination and the deep view of things and I love this.”

El-maghraby is a sensitive artist, who is zealously attempting to revive his country's history and doesn't want us to forget it. This is what makes him special and different.

El-maghraby won the graphic prize of the 13 th annual salon of youth in 1999 and participates in several Kuwaiti festivals, such as the Kuwait 5 th theater festival 2001 and the Kuwait 2001 Arab Cultural Capital, as an art director,

1st of June 2005