The soul transcends the physical world. Although it dwells in the body, giving it life, and one can feel its presence, it has remained an enigma, hiding its secret from even intellectual scholars and religious leaders. The soul is what causes one to experience love, hate, rejoicing, grief, dreams, and frustration all in an attempt to connect one person to another.
As the soul journeys through time and transcends beyond the physical, it seeks psychological peace, freedom from its worldly binds, and spiritual revelation. It is both the thing that grounds one to existence and elevates one beyond the earthbound.
About the Artist
Born in Alexandria, Egypt , Dr. Ahmed Farid was raised in an artistic household with two siblings and a family that nourished his love and passion for the arts. After graduating from high school, Farid completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree, Graphic Section, at the University of Alexandria. In 2008, Farid obtained his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts and Symbols, with Honors, also from the University of Alexandria. In 2014, he successfully completed a Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Art at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Farid flourished into a young, multi-talented artist who managed to capture the attention of a large audience through his remarkable paintings, filmmaking, and acting roles in Egyptian television drama series.
In addition to his demanding schedule, Farid is currently a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University. Among his remarkable achievements, Farid participated in several international art exhibitions representing Egypt in Switzerland, France, California, and New York. His work is also represented in the private collections of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and in several countries, including Egypt, the United States, France, Kuwait, Tunisia, and Morocco. In 2014, he was appointed Ambassador of Goodwill for the United Nations. Originality and visualisation are quite evident in all of Farid’s work. When mapping any piece of artwork, Farid’s goal is to represent people’s lives as well as his own personal experiences. While striking colours are typically used to represent the vast amount of life in the universe, and a minimalistic approach is used to convey the rare stillness of the universe, Farid’s paintings take a different approach. Farid created the theme of characters with oversized eyes to illustrate the concept of “the world lies in every eye, hovering and filling the soul because feelings and emotions are at the centre of our universe and can decide how we act and react.” Layering, texturing, and scraping traditional oil paint with inks and acrylic colors, the Alexandria-based artist evokes an expressive and sensitive quality. The rich colours used in his canvases portray Farid’s perseverance amidst the occasional turbulence in the Egyptian world of art and the context in which they exist. “We can feel freedom inside a jail, yet we cannot feel freedom within our family, country, or community because freedom is all in our minds, not in our space.” – Ahmed Farid, M.D.
