The making of W(Oman)!

IMPRESSED by the hospitality of Omanis and the beauty of the Sultanate, an artist couple from Austria has created an artwork while on their present visit. Andreas M Bacher and Ágota V Szendrei visited the Sultanate for the first time in March 2019 as part of their global 25 location visit including Muscat that made a huge impact on them. The artist couple popularly known by their joint name of ‘Andrago’ came back and set up an art work for Omani citizens and called it ‘W(OMAN).’ [gallery columns='4' link='file' ids='606597,606596,606595,606594'] Over the past three weeks, they worked hard to make an art work using materials of wood and newspapers sourced locally. Their completed work is now on display at the Beach Pavilion lawns of Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where they have been staying. Reputed for creating art and culture, the Andragos had an easy choice for their topic leading to one dominant figure, ‘woman.’ Intense research on the sculpture began with three pieces of wood sourced from the nearby Sidab area and the basement was covered, creating the body of a female figure by a light metal net, covered with papier-machè. The paper used to make papier-machè consisted of old issues of the Oman Daily Observer, which was provided by Al Bustan Palace Hotel. The painting on the figure is made by acrylic colours and with an approximate size of 1.80m height and 1.50m wide. The couple’s love for Oman is immense which has been shown in their art work. The artist duo who complement each others desire to present the artwork to all citizens and visitors from all over the world. Agota, the chief architect of the work, says they experienced a huge enthusiasm and involvement by the locals helping them to create this unique figure. Explaining her work Agota known for her creativity says the art work patterns emphasise empowerment of Omani women. It also showcases Arabic patterns representing culture, henna, grass, leaves, jewellery, trees, fish, centipedes, butterflies, walls, faith, fashion, all connected to life in the Sultanate. The art work is generally a figure of a woman, wearing an abaya with long, full sleeve, opening her arms to the observer in a warm, welcoming and confident way. On her dress, every fold is decorated with some motives inspired by Oman and the roles of the Omani woman, running down from the top till the bottom. They have also included some patterns which according to their opinion while interacting with locals are of crucial importance when thinking of the person, who has made a major impact on the female population of Oman. Andreas says “the topic of being a woman and facing different challenges is a key issue in our daily private life; being an artist-couple; entrepreneurs and globetrotters; keeping the balance, and peace and security which makes for a happy family.” Through their artworks they managed not only to introduce different topics to the public and also raise awareness and start a dialogue among the observers. The couple says they are committed to show the local Omani women a variety of their roles which helps to realise how much they are raising the profile of Oman to the highest pedestal. “It is also important for us to celebrate the Omani women and encourage them to think positive about them first and convince others that they are indeed empowered and deserve to be appreciated and respected.” The Sultanate, according to the couple, is considered to be one of the leading Gulf countries in terms of gender equality and continues to make positive strides. Their artwork prefers to break with the traditional stereotypes of the world towards women in Arab society and show the progress. This progress has been made possible by late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, and is therefore, a tribute for his life and work. Andreas and Agota say the whole artistic figure is a representation of their perception and appreciation of the beauty of the country, the people, culture and tradition. During their stay they made efforts to collect many impressions and translate them into patterns which have been added to the sculpture. Details about their art works from all over the world are on www.andrago.at