Images of Eyes Gallery I
Oil Paintings by Sara Shamma
Syria

Sara Shamma is an award-winning artist from Damascus, Syria.  Shamma's many awards include an honor by The Presidential Palace in Damascus, and fourth prize at a competition at The National Portrait Gallery in London.   Her works have been exhibited in Austria, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,  Netherlands, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Republic, and United Kingdom.

Shamma began painting in 1979 at the age of four.  From 1982 to 1985 she took drawing courses for children.  She was graduated from the Adham Ismail Fine Arts Institute in 1995, and the Faculty of Fine Arts (painting), Damascus University in 1998.  She taught at Adham Ismail from 1997 to 2000.  Since 1994 she has been a full-time artist.

A hardcover book of Shamma's paintings by Cune Press is due out in June 2007.

 "The art of Sara Shamma begins with classical form, then builds emotion through overlapping layers, abstraction, and ghost-like mirror images. Shamma's work is curious, playful, intelligent, and somber by turns. Her dark tones, to many viewers, convey the anguish and seeking of a self-reflective soul."

-----A review of Shamma's works as published on the Cune Press website

Our exhibit includes eight of her most recent paintings.  All are oil on canvas, untitled.

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Untitled painting by Sara Shamma of Syria
Image Copyright © by Sara Shamma

Shamma's website is http://www.sarashamma.com
Email: sara@sarashamma.com

Text from Wikipedia; source of photograph unknown

A Whirling Dervish [depicted in the painting above] is a mystical dancer who stands between the material and cosmic worlds.  His dance is part of a sacred ceremony in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm.  He represents the earth revolving on its axis while orbiting the sun. The purpose of the ritual whirling is for the dervish to empty himself of all distracting thoughts, placing him in trance.  Released from his body he conquers dizziness.

The Whirling Dervishes trace their origin to the 13th century Ottoman Empire. The Dervishes, also known as the Mevlevi Order, are Sufis, a spiritual offshoot of Islam. In 1972, Jelaluddin Loras, Sheikh of the Mevlevi Order of America, brought the religion from Turkey to the United States.  On December 17, Whirling Dervishes across the world celebrate the birth of Jelaluddin Mevlana Rumi, a mystic poet, who founded the Mevlevi Order.

Sema or sama  is a term that means hearing in Arabic and Persian.  It is used to refer to some of the ceremonies used by various sufi orders and often involves prayer, song, dance, and other ritualistic activities.  Sema dancing is known to Europeans as the dance of the Whirling Dervishes, although many forms of sema do not include whirling.

In the Mevlevi sufi tradition, sema represents a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through mind and love to "Perfect."  In this journey the seeker symbolically turns towards the truth, grows through love, abandons the ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the "Perfect"; then returns from this spiritual journey with greater maturity, so as to love and to be of service to the whole of creation without discrimination against beliefs, races, classes and nations.

Following a recommended fast of several hours, Sufi whirlers begin with hands crossed onto shoulders and may return their hands to this position if they feel dizzy. They rotate on their left feet in short twists, using the right foot to drive their bodies around the left foot. The left foot is like an anchor to the ground, so that if the whirler loses his or her balance, he or she can think of their left foot, direct attention towards it and regain balance.

The whirling is done on the spot in an anticlockwise direction, with the right arm held high, palm upwards, and the left arm held low, palm downwards. People who feel discomfort from whirling anti-clockwise can change to clockwise.  The body of the whirler is meant to be soft with eyes open, but unfocused so that images become blurred and flowing. A 15 minute period of slow rotation is followed by a gradual build up of speed over the next 30 minutes. Then the whirling takes over.

When the whirler is whirling so fast that he cannot remain upright, his body will fall by itself. The whirler does not consciously make the fall a decision or attempt to arrange the landing in advance; if his body is soft he should land softly - and the earth will absorb the energy.  If the idea of letting oneself fall is too much for the practitioner then the whirler should allow himself to slow down very slowly.  If the whirler has been whirling for an hour then the process of slowing down might take some time - up to 10 minutes and more.

Once the whirler has fallen, the second part of the meditation starts - the unwhirling.  The whirler rolls onto his stomach immediately so that his bare navel is in contact with the earth.  If anybody feels strong discomfort lying this way, he should lie on his back. The practitioner feels his body blending into the earth, like a small child pressed to its mother's breasts.  Eyes remain closed and the whirler remains passive and silent for at least 15 minutes.  After the meditation, whirlers try to be as quiet and inactive as possible.

Page updated Nov 17, 2007

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