The desert in Egypt is a very magical place, a place of serenity and peace. Since it is very easily accessible, whenever I get the chance I go there for meditation and tranquility. The contrast between the hectic noisy fast-paced life of Cairo and the quiet, calm and relaxing atmosphere of the desert is remarkable.
The most striking thing about the desert is its vast emptiness as you walk through it. Nothing obstructs your view and every object whether large or small, near or far, takes its place and stands clearly in the desert sands. Even small animals like crabs or scarabs leave their clear marks behind them. Mountains that seem so high up from afar are actually small once you climb them and are lost in the middle of much larger and higher mountain peaks behind them.
The desert is a natural palette from which an artist can derive inspiration and creativity. With all such elements surrounding me, it was only natural for me to create my series of mosaic pieces inspired from everything I could sense and see. This project is a work of abstract expressionism where I created sketches and expressed my ideas and thoughts as they spontaneously came to my mind. Throughout my desert journey, I collected different material from my surroundings, each representing a specific memory of the trip, to finally compose a mosaic art project using these materials.
Even when it comes to sounds, everything resonates so clearly in the desert. What one would normally not even notice when walking in the city, like the sound of the wind or the birds in the sky, is heard so clearly when walking there. The sound of the water as it reaches the shore blends in with the other sounds to create a natural rhythm of notes. The texture of the sand and stones blending so naturally together with the colors all around makes a natural mosaic that can inspire so many artistic ideas to come to life. The smell of the salty sea and the desert plants blends in so well with the sights, sounds and textures around to make a setting that is difficult to leave behind.
