Damascus-SANA
For many years, the young artist, Mazen Shaiban, used to collect the kernels of olives, to use them in designing artistic paintings in which he embodied the successive civilizations that passed through Syria.
Shaiban stated, during his speech to the SANA Youth Newsletter, that he spends more than 16 hours a day at work, where he collects olive kernels from family, friends and relatives, to stack them and stick them next to each other after he publishes them in a way that enables him to paste them on the painting, to design from them paintings that represent the civilizations that It passed through Syria, in addition to a painting made of 94,000 olive kernels, in which the mosque and the church were combined in one of the neighborhoods of Damascus.
Shaiban, who aspired to enter the Guinness Book of Records with this painting, said: During the olive season, he goes to the presses to obtain the kernels, where he collects them for later use, pointing out that he executes his paintings on the sidewalk in the Damascene Al-Midan neighborhood near his small shop that sells clothes.
Regarding the stages of work in the olive kernel, Shaiban added: The olive seed contains a lot of oil, and therefore the first step includes getting rid of the oil by washing the olive kernel and drying it for 15 days, after which it becomes ready for work, pointing out that he wants to implement archaeological teachers for each governorate .
Shaiban indicated that the idea of using olive kernels in his paintings came to him as a result of the boredom he experienced after losing his printing press, his source of livelihood during the years of the war on Syria, pointing out that he receives support and admiration from his surroundings, especially when displaying his paintings in exhibitions such as the Heritage and Traditional Crafts Exhibition, which he recently participated in at the University of Beirut. Damascus, during which he displayed a set of his distinctive paintings, in which he embodied the most prominent landmarks of a number of countries, such as the Wall of China, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and the Palace of Culture in the Kremlin, in addition to a group of paintings of the old Damascene houses with all their details, all of which were admired by visitors.
Shaiban indicated that his work is hard and tiring and requires accuracy and innovation to implement the paintings, which is reflected in the high prices because he also uses good materials in it, whether colors, wood or cardboard, indicating that through his work he was able to gather his children around him as they help him grind the seeds.
Shaiban concluded his speech by saying: I hope that generations will be trained and educated to implement these works and designs so that they embody through them the most wonderful stories and tales.
Sakina Mohammed
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