Sign language

Silent Language

She wasn’t picked out as an artist at school. Not even at university. In fact, Salma El-Turk ’77 showed little interest in art herself (well, except for having an amazing knack of crocheting colorful hats for everyone). But after a particularly emotional day four years ago, she grabbed a piece of paper and began to doodle. And doodle. And doodle. “I had this need to keep going,” recalled El-Turk. And before her astonished eyes her “doodles” became a sophisticated series of line and curves. The lines began to take the shape of a woman’s face, elephant or bird. Suddenly, El-Turk knew exactly what she was drawing and the emotions she wanted to convey. She hasn’t been able to stop drawing since. “There were so many emotions that wanted to come out,” she said. “My thoughts suddenly became clear in my mind.” The mother of four grown children unrelentingly produced drawing after drawing. It was her daughter who finally grabbed some of her mother’s work and showed it to Omayma Soubra, the owner of the Art Workshop in Hamra. Impressed, Soubra called El-Turk and encouraged her take some formal art lessons. A year later, El-Turk held her first exhibition (last March) at the Art Workshop. She displayed 51 of her best pieces, including her early work when she started to use colors. Later on, as her talent unraveled, she used black ink - sometimes tinted with just a dab of colors. Many aspects of El-Turk’s own life are weaved into the designs. “The more I drew, the more I began to realize that part of me is in that picture,” said El-Turk. “Most of the drawings are about women. There are many birds too. So somehow I’m in every single design.” The significance of each design depends heavily on the perspective of the observer. El-Turk listened enthralled as visitors translated her drawings into different meanings. “I don’t know myself what they mean until I begin,” she said. “I start with my energy, emotions, feelings, pen and paper. I don’t where I’m heading. The images come to me as I start making shapes.” Hundreds of curves and lines come together to form one of El-Turks’ drawings. If one single line gone awry, Turk discards the entire effort. Unruffled, El-Turk starts a new design. “Drawing is my haven,” she said. “I feel like somebody understands me. This is my silent language.”