By Qin Zhongwei ( China Daily)
Ambassadors and diplomats are often invited to attendexhibitions, but in very rare cases they go to exhibitionswith their own works.
Nouria El Alami, wife of the Moroccan ambassador toChina, was in the spotlight recently, not because she isthe spouse of a senior diplomat, but for her artistic talent.
El Alami held her first solo exhibition in China at the BeijingImperial City Art Museum from June 1 to 3.
The 40 or so artworks – comprising oil paintings and brushpaintings – in the well-known gallery in downtown Beijingwere all painted after her husband was appointed to hiscurrent position and the family moved to Beijing in early2009.
Even though she was born in Casablanca – the well-known city that means “white house” in Spanish – the wayshe sees the world is very colorful.
El Alami expresses her inner thoughts and subtleobservations through bold mixtures of vibrant colors. Theartworks she created in the past three years also reflecther close observation of Chinese society and its diverseculture.
Chinese visitors to her exhibition were surprised, afterreading her biography posted at the entrance, by the bigcontrast between her background and her artisticachievements: she has a doctorate degree in biology andclinical chemistry.
“I learnt painting by myself,” she said.
She began to show a huge interest in painting when shewas 4. She then participated in a talent TV show at a veryyoung age and won a prize – one of her fondest childhoodmemories.
Her passion for color and canvas moved on to a higherlevel after she married Jaafar Alj Hakim. They moved todifferent parts of the world, and the cultural differencesshe saw and experienced made her eager to pick up thebrush again, not only as a way to tell what the world is like,but also as a tool to express herself.
“You know what was the first thing that Nouria did after shearrived in Beijing? She went to 798 and bought the stuffshe needs for painting,” her Chinese friend Nina Wang, aTV host in Beijing said.
Besides going to the 798 Art Zone quite often as a sourceof inspiration, she is also a frequent visitor to museumsand galleries elsewhere in Beijing and other Chinesecities. At the same time, she is an enthusiastic theaterspectator – sometimes she just can’t forget particularmoments on the stage, so she revives them on thecanvas.
That’s why in her artworks Peking opera performers andChinese modern dancers are her favorite models. Themelody or the dance moves echo her inner passion formusic, which is in the genes of Moroccan people.
At the very beginning, some of her paintings were hangedon the walls of the Moroccan embassy in Beijing, and theywere highly appreciated by her friends from Morocco andChina. With the support and encouragement of herhusband, El Alami decided to share her art with a moreChinese audience.
As a unique form of art, paintings usually speak more thanwords do, she said. Most Chinese people don’t knowmuch about Moroccan culture but they are very interestedin the country located on the northwestern tip of Africa.
“The two countries share quite a few commoncharacteristics and historic connections despite the longdistance between them,” she said.
Nowadays when Chinese people talk about Morocco,they still recall the famous Hollywood movie Casablanca.But Moroccan people began to know China a long timeago, she said.
A Moroccan Marco Polo – Ibn Battuta – made an extensivejourney in the early 14th century around the world. Battutatraveled to China and took stories back to his countryabout the mysterious nation in the east.
“Morocco probably was the first importer of tea from Chinamany centuries ago, and now we still have a similar teaculture, which in fact was inspired by China,” she said. AMoroccan family usually drinks tea five times a day. Theidea of opening a Chinese tea museum in the Moroccancity of Essauira is being considered by the two countries,she said.
El Alami is planning a new journey now, but she will takeher paintings along. Shanghai is expected to be thesecond stop of her exhibition, the beginning of a newround to find inspiration.
Contact the writer at qinzhongwei@chinadaily.com.cn
