Egyptian sculptor, professor at Minya University, Gamal Sedqi: My works speak for themselves. It was revealed that the deformed statue of Nefertiti in Upper Egypt was made by a “conch bleacher.” Ahmed El-Gammal Published on 10-22-2018 The deformed statue of Nefertiti before it was removed The new Nefertiti statue designed by Gamal Sedqi Gamal Sedqi Maidan The martyr: The professor of sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Minya University, Dr. Gamal Sedqi, was greatly shocked in late 2015 when his eyes fell on a deformed statue of Nefertiti at the entrance to the city of Samalut in Egypt, where he lives. He made an effort with officials to save the beautiful Pharaonic queen, remove the deformed statue, and create a new one with standard standards. Disciplined artistry. An interview conducted with him by Al-Jarida revealed the reason for the spread of deformed statues in a large number of squares in Egypt. Sculpture professor Dr. says: Gamal Sedqi: “About three years ago, a wave of anger broke out in artistic and cultural circles in Egypt after pictures spread of a distorted statue of the Pharaonic Queen Nefertiti at the entrance to the city of Samalut in Minya Governorate (south of Cairo), but after it was removed and another was placed with correct artistic standards, no one paid any attention to it. Even when pictures of the new statue were published, it was wrongly attributed to the students of the College of Fine Arts in Minya, even though it was my creation and I executed it in the college’s production center, which I manage.” He continues: “I live in the city of Samalut and I pass by this place every day. One day in late 2015, I noticed landscaping and road paving work, but I was shocked by the presence of a deformed statue of Queen Nefertiti. I objected to his presence and said that it offends the place and me personally as a sculptor who lives close to it. One of those responsible for this work told me that making the statue cost them 400 pounds (about 20 dollars), and I learned that the person who made it, “Moubayed Mahara,” works in the field of construction and has nothing to do with art and its origins. The matter reached the governor of Minya, who ordered its immediate removal, and the situation settled on... Executing a new statue that restores respect to the beautiful Pharaonic queen. Public evaluation: Work on the new statue took about two months and its cost amounted to 135 thousand pounds (about 7,500 dollars). The square was officially opened in the presence of the governor and a number of officials, but the media did not pay attention to the wonderful new statue, and social media activists continued to publish pictures of the deformed statue. , and making fun of it. A few days ago, pictures of the new work spread, but it was wrongly attributed to students at the College of Fine Arts and not to the well-known sculptor Gamal Sidqi. The owner of the new statue expressed his astonishment at what was published on social networking sites, explaining to Al-Jarida that he does not have an account on Facebook or any other site, but he learned about it from some of his friends, and because he does not seek fame and limelight, he did not contact the media to correct it. Wrong, and he said: “My works speak for themselves, and I leave their evaluation to the receiving audience. Finally, the newspapers noticed that I am the new employer and treated me fairly, especially since the founding tablet on the statue clearly indicates my name as its designer, which is something that is unmistakable and does not require proof.” Public Taste In another surprise, Sedqi said: “Conservatives in Egypt resort to building contractors to beautify squares. Even the Supreme Committee for Beautification includes only one artist and the rest of the members are administrative employees, so it must include a professor in the College of Engineering, an architect, and a sculptor to take into account the technical aspects of beautification of the squares,” revealing that the College of Fine Arts was established in Minya Governorate in 1983, and for 32 years it was not assigned It has to carry out one artistic work in the fields. Rather, the first work carried out by the college’s production center at the end of 2015 was the new statue of Nefertiti after the removal of the deformed statue. Despite what many visual artists say that public taste has declined in Egypt, which has resulted in the spread of deformed statues in many fields, arousing sarcasm and boredom, Sedqi said: “Getting used to seeing ugly things is disastrous, but we have not reached this stage yet.” . The critical eye still exists and is doing its job, and it does not require a specialist, as the eye rejects the abnormal and detects ugliness just as it detects beauty easily, and this is the secret of the severe attack that broke out after the appearance of the mutilated statue of Nefertiti in a governorate bearing the name of the Bride of Upper Egypt.” The well-known Egyptian sculptor explained the reason for the spread of the phenomenon of deformed statues in many fields, especially in regional areas, to the presence of limited budgets in each governorate, and when it is decided to work on beautification or development of a city, the largest share of the budget goes to service works such as paving roads and extending sewage networks. And electricity, etc., while a very small amount of money is allocated to design a statue, the result is relying on a non-specialized person to create this ugliness in the squares. “Martyrs’ Square” by artist Gamal Sedqi is a remarkable sculptural work that he recently designed at the Production Center of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Egypt, and received positive feedback, including two works in the city of “Matai”, one of which is 13 meters high and was placed in a square called “Martyrs’ Square”, and the second is as high as Nine meters in “Peace Square”. Regarding the idea of the two works, he says: “In Martyrs’ Square, the idea is of the mother of a martyr standing and the martyr lying on the ground, connected by a bond without beginning or end, and the direction of the martyr’s soul ascends to heaven while he remains on earth, in confirmation of the noble verse in which the Almighty Truth says: “And do not think that those They were killed in the cause of God as dead, but rather alive and provided for by their Lord,” and the statue contains several martyrs. The second work is a formation that expresses doves of peace.”