GUEST GALLERY ARTIST FOR SUMMER 2000
GUEST GALLERY ARTIST FOR SUMMER 2000
Hasan Abu Afash
Artist Statement
Creativity has always provided me with an enjoyable sense of pleasure
and accomplishment. This sense has compelled me to generate new ideas, which
seem to produce positive responses from professional designers. In this respect,
Islamic heritage has been a remarkable source of my inspiration, in addition
to other European and American creative works.
I am a Muslim graphic and typographic designer, living in Gaza- Palestine. In
this context, it may be appropriate to refer to Salama (One of Jafa villages,
from which my family has been forced to emigrate in 1948), in its capacity as
one of my designs resources.
I received my BSC in Chemical Engineering from the University in Homs of Syria
in 1995. It was during my final university year that I could buy my first computer
and start my initial step in the design field using CorelDraw3. Later, I returned
to Gaza, and because of the hard circumstances and my study area of specialization,
which could not be easily found in Gaza, I tried to find another living resource.
Therefore, I strongly entered into the field of design.
I work in the "General Petroleum Corporation" beside my work in the
advertising field at "Al Quds Bank for Information". Most of my design
projects are local because of the many, many closures and sieges we always pass
through and suffer from.
I adore Arabic calligraphy, and my love of calligraphy has stemmed from the
outstanding works of calligrapher Hamed Al Amidi that inspired me to create
interesting and arresting Islamic designs.
While in Syria, I tried to learn Farsi (Nastaliq) and Thuluth calligraphy, but
my college activities, and the difficulties of pursuing calligraphy, such as
the rarity of resources, writing materials and calligraphy teachers impeded
my dreams in this field. This led me in part to direct my creative efforts to
typography.
I designed my first font in 1999 in CorelDraw and Fontgrapher3, and since 2001,
I seriously pursued the learning of type design and advances in digital technology
associated with it, hoping to foster my own fingerprint in this field through
intensive training and self-learning.
For additional information, please feel free to contact me through my emails: hasan@sakkal.com, hasan@hibastudio.com
