Lattakia, SANA – The first professional sand sculpture forum held in Lattakia concluded its activities on Saturday evening, with the week-long event producing a number of carefully-crafted and diverse sculptures.
The ten participating artists gravitated towards nautical themes as well as themes inspired by the current crisis in Syria, in addition to assorted themes related to the human condition.
Sculptor Ali Moalla said that holding such an event for the first time in Syria and at such a level of professionalism is an achievement in and of itself, adding that he wished that he could have built a bigger sculpture but the quality of the sand made that difficult. His sculpture’s theme is inspired by Syrians who travel by sea to escape the war and the dangers they face.
Likewise, sculptor Hisham Roumiye said his piece is inspired by teenagers and how they are affected by the crisis in Syria, and hoped that future events would provide a type of sand more suitable for sculpting, while fellow participant Mehyar Ali said that his piece is inspired by archeology and the ancient city of Ugarit in particular.
The forum was held at the marina in Lattakia from August 8th to August 15th, organized by the National Association for Tourism Development and the Damascus-based Mustafa Ali Gallery.
Hazem Sabbagh