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Bahraini calligrapher Khalid Zubari is paying homage to his lineage of ‘line-craft’ in the region’s first virtual-reality calligraphy exhibition.
The exhibition, titled Madad Al Qalam, Ink of the Pen in Arabic, includes 49 pieces from Khalid’s recent calligraphic body of work, each delicately handmade on marbleised paper.
Khalid considers it a tribute to his late father Khalil Zubari, one of Bahrain’s first calligraphers, who created signs and mastheads by hand in the days before computers.
Yet despite the legacy of lines and brush strokes, Khalid was always drawn more to contemporary art, as a hobby, while he worked across the region in investment banking and real estate.
It wasn’t until 18 years ago when he came across Rules of Arabic Calligraphy by noted Iraqi calligrapher Hashem Muhammad al-Baghdadi that his love for the craft was re-ignited.
Khalid told GulfWeekly: “I was drawn to traditional calligraphy, starting my journey with the Thuluth font, which is the basis of Arabic calligraphy. Over the years, I have explored the Farsi, Moroccan, Diwani Jalli, and Naskh font families.
“Each region in the Arab world explored and experimented, creating their own schools of calligraphy. Some, like Thuluth are quite rigid with their rules, while others are more relaxed. In recent years, I have been experimenting with the Moroccan and Farsi fonts, which are more fluid in form and allow for some interesting designs.”
Khalid started off his journey with a regular set of pens and industrial paper, but now uses more specialised and traditional tools. For paper, he uses a parchment-like marbleised paper imported from Turkey, akin to that used by calligraphers of days past.
His pen is the traditional ‘Qalam’ – a pen made from dried bamboo or reed, which uses a much thicker ink than modern calligraphy dip pens. The calligraphy itself is just the tip of his craft. After inking passages from the Quran or age-old Arabic poetry, Khalid gets to work, painstakingly gold leafing and adding stylistic elements that make each piece unique.
Seeing each piece in person is a truly exhilarating experience as the size and detail make a huge difference, uncovering new layers to the work as one moves closer or farther away from it.
“I like to work in the early hours of the day. I wake up around 5:30 and after making myself some tea, I prepare my supplies and try to quickly put whatever idea I have to paper. I have found that unless I do it quickly, I’ll change my mind about the design or the words I want to write down.
“I start off with the calligraphy, which is, now, the easiest part. After that, I take inspiration from the traditional masters of the craft and create designs around my work. This often is the most time-consuming part of every piece.
“I am not a big fan of modern styles of calligraphy. I think there is a nostalgic beauty to the way old Quranic verses and poetry were inscribed and I want to encourage people to rediscover that.”
Even though he has not staged an exhibition in nearly 35 years, Khalid expanded his artistic repertoire, now bringing back some of his earlier artistic flair and supplies to calligraphy – a fact not unnoticed by his wife, Mary, and daughters, Dana, Shaikha and Hala, as they have had to get used to the scores of supplies scattered throughout their home.
He has been sharing some of his designs with the world on Instagram via @khalidkzubari and most notably, as inscriptions on local active fitness clothing brand Tru Active, which was started by his daughters Dana and Hala.
He plans to share his love of lines with the world and encourage young people of the region to rediscover the craft, adding: “I would like to conduct some classes as well and get people started on their journey. Usually, once someone masters one font or form, they can’t wait to try more out. That’s the beauty behind Arabic calligraphy and it is crucial that it be protected and passed on from generation to generation.”
The exhibition, hosted by The Art Space, is showcased in the same virtual hallways as the art gallery’s previous exhibition, Safer Spaces. Madad Al Qalam runs until the end of the month and can be viewed at artspacebh.com/VREXHIBITION/
