Bono painted with bread and thyme, and Messi with Kunafa.. This artist uses non-traditional materials to paint her paintings
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Like millions of people around the world, the performance of the Moroccan footballer, Yassine Bounou, at the World Cup in Qatar dazzled the Palestinian plastic artist, Sarah Zuhdi Odeh.
This encouraged Odeh to support the goalkeeper by drawing a painting in an unconventional style.
In her painting, which shows a smiling Bono, the artist replaced the canvas with bread, and the colors with a mixture of thyme and olive oil.
And the video clip, which highlights her method of drawing the painting, quickly spread on various platforms and social networking sites, after she shared it on her Instagram account.
Since the video was published two weeks ago, it has garnered more than 24,000 views, in addition to thousands of additional views, after it was shared by various accounts on social media.
In an interview with CNN in Arabic, the artist said, “The drawing was my way of supporting the Moroccan national team, as Morocco is the first African-Arab country to reach the semi-finals in the history of the World Cup.”
Her use of thyme and olive oil, in particular, was a message of thanks for the team’s solidarity with the Palestinian people, as Moroccan players raised the Palestinian flag when they celebrated their qualification from one stage to another in the World Cup.
The Palestinian woman discovered the wide circulation of her video, from the calls she received from her family and old friends, in addition to the many comments and messages from her followers that she received about the circulation of her work on various television channels and electronic platforms.
Her painting of Bono embodies her interest in challenging herself in the field of art, and she said: “I am always on a journey in search of new, unconventional materials for painting.”
After Argentina won the World Cup, the artist did not hesitate to make a painting of Lionel Messi through a kunafa dish in which vermicelli was used to shape his features.
A passion for exploring exotic materials
When you visit her page, you will not find traditional artwork painted in oil, water or acrylic, for example.
“I don’t like to limit myself to a certain kind of art,” the artist told CNN. “The fun for me is in challenging myself to embody what I imagine through the use of exotic materials.”
So far, the Palestinian woman has explored the use of various materials in her artwork, starting with cosmetics, and drawing with foodstuffs such as labneh, thyme, oil, salt, coffee, and even water.
Odeh, an architect and interior designer, has been sharing her artwork on Instagram since 2018, by drawing her favorite celebrities using cosmetics and other tools. She mentioned among those drawn by the artists Haifa Wehbe and Ahmed Helmy, who in turn praised her work.
“Most of my paintings have won the admiration of many artists,” Odeh said.
Odeh keeps pace with the events surrounding her, and sheds light, through her art, on educational messages and societal issues.
