Chris Fraser meets an artist using a variety of tools to explore some universal truths  

Calligraphy and art have been brought together in a special collection of work by Zakaria Ramhani at the Artspace Gallery in Dubai.

The Moroccan artist’s latest collection of paintings is called ‘From Right To Left’, and it’s an inspiring series of works that uses writing and language in the creation of a series of faces.

The clever, seemingly multi-layered pieces reveal so much more the closer you inspect them. And although Zakaria won’t reveal his methods, he’s clearly proud of the end product. He says: “It’s a project I’ve been doing for three years now.

Symbolically, ‘FromRight To Left’ is the direction of Arab, and oriental, language when written down. If the people see the calligraphy in the work, then there is calligraphy there.

At the same time, the work is not about the calligraphy.

There is script but also if you look at the image, there is no script as it becomes the image. What I was painting is the space around the image.”

Zakaria comes form an artistic background - his father is a painter known for his traditional Moroccan paintings. And while he learned the art of painting in his family studio, he has since developed his own unique style which deals with the universal. 

“My first exhibition here, two years ago, was about the visuals of faces and now and it is more theory, theologic, conceptual, I’m happy with how I’m deepening the work in the visual.

“All the images represent me, even if they look like me or not.

They are also representing you, or anyone who is not me. It’s about a personal philosophy that has been inspired by sufism and the mystic poets, and also the unity or unification of the universe.

What is important is not the creation, but the act of creation.

“The act is eternal, it’s always happening, the face is a focus.

“This is why the face is nothing but it is everything. Every second we are changing, we are getting old every second.

“This is why with calligraphy, it will continue. It is the same script.

The script can be spiritual, poetic or personal. It’s like a game.”

‘From Right To Left’, is on show at the Artspace Gallery at the DIFC Art and Culture Gate Village until March 31