DUBAI // The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so the saying goes.
It is a saying particularly true of Basma Hamed, who has inherited the skills of her famous cartoonist father but is using them in a unique way.
Sudanese Basma, 22, born and raised in the UAE, is one of the few people in the Arab world who have mastered the art of silhouette, in which portraits are made by cutting out shapes in black paper and mounting them on a lighter background.
Basma’s father, a well-known cartoonist in the Sudanese and Emirati community, taught her when he noticed her talent.
“He learnt the art just by looking at an Egyptian lady cutting through hard paper back in his study days in Cairo,” says Basma.
As a child, she drew countless sketches of objects and designs for clothes.
“I even used to make the designs for my dolls when I was smaller.”
The word “silhouette” derives from Etienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister who in 1759 was forced by France’s credit crisis during the Seven Years War to impose severe economic demands on citizens, particularly the wealthy.
His name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply, and so with these outline portraits.
Before photography, silhouette profiles from black card were the cheapest way of recording a person’s appearance. It became popular in the mid-18th century.
Basma’s art makes her feel distinguished, despite her disappointment that many people do not understand it.
“People of the Arab world are as yet incapable of understanding and digesting this type of art,” she says.
“Lately I feel that art has been narrowed down for them to include only singing and acting. Even drawing is no longer as popular as it used to be, since people are turning to technology in this regard.”
Basma’s father taught her the basics of silhouette art in one week when she turned 18, and she has spent her time mastering it ever since.
“Even before that I was so taken by my father’s talent and often went to his galleries and exhibitions, and I believe if you love something you will excel in it,” she says.
Four years later she takes just seconds to fashion the shape of an animal, tree or person out of paper.
Despite her love of silhouette, Basma chose not to study art at university.
“My father is a university lecturer so why would I seek a teacher when I have him? Besides I strongly believe that if a hobby turns into a job, it will become dull.”
Instead, she is studying media and journalism at the University of Sharjah. In January she will graduate.
“Media and my art complete each other,” Basma says. “This art is another life of mine, a life that takes me into the lives of people everywhere.”
salamir@thenational.ae
