Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

jewelry Designer Abdel Azim: Egyptian Heritage Is Rich, Renewable, But No One Pays Attention to It


Sun 01 Aug 2021 | 02:03 PM
walid Farouk

Sarah Abdel Azim obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphics, 1998. She turned into jewellery design to make it her main career.

She participated in many local and international exhibitions as she has launched her own brand. She served as the Commissure of the Art of Ornament Festival, the fourth edition that was held at the Gezira Arts Center in Zamalek District, Cairo, and January 2020.

She was interviewed by "SEE". This is the excerpt from the interview.

 

 

 How did your relationship with jewelry design begin?

S.A: I was influenced deeply by my grandfather because he was a plastic artist, so I learned the arts of drawing since my early childhood. Then I went to the Faculty of Fine Arts to study graphics.

I had an interest, since childhood, in jewellery, especially antic silver, and I started drawing pieces of jewellery and I did not know how to carry them out.

By chance, I met the famous sculptor Abdul Aziz Saab who was convinced by my fledgling talent and guided me to workshops of silver. That was the real start with designing of jewellery, and then I opened a gallery featuring my collections.

Has your work been influenced by your studies of fine arts?

S.A: Yes, after all, my studies of fine arts influenced the general direction in which I work, and in my designs, I rely on spontaneity, and I deal with pieces as a painting or a piece of sculpture.

When did you start launching your brand?

S.A: I had worked for 7 years from the beginning of 1999 without a store, and then the brand has been launched since 2007.

What are the most prominent jewellery exhibitions that you participated in?

S.A: I had participated in many local and international exhibitions since 1999, in Egypt, France, Austria and the northern Mediterranean countries.

Among them are exhibitions at the Gezira Arts Center 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008, and I participated in several group exhibitions, including Doroub Hall - Picasso Hall and (Egyptian Colors) exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute, 2000.

My works were on show at all the editions of the jewellery Art Festival, the first session, at Al Jazeera Arts Center, January 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2020.

I also participated in an exhibition entitled (Noun and Arts) at Picasso Gallery for Fine Arts in Zamalek, Cairo, February 2006 and the Art and Society exhibition in the halls (Al-Hussein Fawzy and Kamal Khalifa) at Al-Jazeera Center for Arts, January 2008.

Also, I participated in (Creations of Silver Handicrafts) exhibition at Doroob Hall, Garden City, and November 2009 and in the exhibition of small works of art in the path hall in Garden City, November 2010, 2012 and 2014.

In addition I took part in a number of foreign international group exhibitions, such as the North Mediterranean Countries Exhibition in Paris - France 2004, and the Egyptian jewellery Exhibition in Vienna - Austria 2007.

Where do you get your design ideas from?

S.A: I took ideas from the Turkish heritage and nature, as my designs predominantly use flowers, trees, plants and birds, and I resorted to methods of summarizing shapes such as boats and the Nile, looking for the artistic story in the piece of jewellery. I love art deco and rococo a lot.

Do you rely on design to develop ideas for jewellery pieces?

S.A: I do not rely on placing designs on the piece but I work directly on the wax module as if it were a painting or a sculptural work.

What materials do you use in your work?

S.A: I use silver as I prefer 900-carat silver because its color changes to a darker degree with use, so it shows the details of my designs that suggest antiquity.

I don't like the Italian silver of 925 carats because its color doesn't change rapidly and I consider its shining color among its defects. I also use gold and bronze, but on special requests from customers.

Do you do your own work or do you rely on craftsmen?

S.A: I rely on implementing all the pieces myself and all my works are characterized by one piece, which I produce by using wax" or what is known as "casting".

Are there any certain techniques that you rely on?

S.A: I use more than one technique in the implementation of the ornaments, but I settled and preferred the method of casting by using wax because I can express what I want in the piece and give it more privacy.

It is done by casting gypsum onto the wax in a mould and then exposing it to heat to melt the wax, then the silver is cast, and after cooling, the gypsum is broken to obtain the desired shape.

Who are the artists that influenced you in the art of jewellery?

S.A: I feel that themes as an Egyptian are present in my works, including the peasant, the Islamic, the Bedouin, and the Pharaonic. Therefore, I can say that the environment around me had a great influence on me.

What do you think of the jewellery and its market in Egypt?

Unfortunately, much of the market depends on imitation, and it is distinguished only by those who adopt their own line, and the Egyptian heritage is rich and renewable, but no one pays attention to it, and the market is living the "Khawaja-foreigner" complex, and the profession is dying out.

What are your tips for designers?

Be patient, do be not rush, give your ideas time to become ripe, inspired by the heritage, and see a lot of the work of local and international designers.

There is no objection to the fact that the teamwork between the designers, the exchange of ideas, and the creation of a state of an intellectual scramble among the designers is a healthy state.

Translated by Ahmed Moamar

https://youtu.be/0wk2W05x-pw