Art of Elim Dutra makes the headlines in Egyptian press
The Brazilian ambassador in Cairo, Egypt, is not just a diplomat. When he is not practising the art of international negotiation, he works with other art forms: painting, drawing, and sculpture.
São Paulo - The artwork of the Brazilian ambassador in Cairo, Elim Dutra, made the headlines in the Egyptian press this year. The April edition of the Al-Beit - Al-Ahram magazine, and the February edition of Horus, the board magazine of the EgyptAir airline company, featured articles on the diplomat's art. Elim Dutra is a sculptor and also does drawings, paintings, and photography in parallel to his diplomatic work. Early last year, Dutra was among the artists invited to make a sculpture at the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium, which is held in the Arab country since 1996 and brings together artists from all over the world.
"My work as a diplomat gave me a chance to travel and to live among different cultures, whereas my work as an artist helped me dedicate myself to the diplomatic experience and broaden its scope," said Dutra in an interview to Horus. The publication described how Dutra reconciles the diplomatic and artistic aspects of his life, and explained the creative process for the sculpture that the ambassador made for the Egyptian Symposium. Dutra sculpted an abstract, 2.6-metre tall, 1-meter wide figure, weighing ten tonnes, in a block of granite.
The work was baptized Al-Zaím, in Arabic, which can be translated into English as "the head" or "the leader." According to the article, the piece symbolizes power in its various manifestations around the world, such as the leader of Brazilian Indian tribes, the leader of Scandinavian Viking tribes, or the Italian godfather. The work is on display in front of the Nubian Museum, from where one can see the Nile River. In addition to the Brazilian, also invited to do artwork during the symposium were 14 other artists from Egypt, Mauritania, Turkey, Syria, France, Hungary, and Poland. The symposium was design with the goal of giving birth to a new generation of granite sculptors, according to the Horus magazine.
Dutra has been exhibiting his work since 1981 in South America, North America and Europe, as well as in the Arab world. "The fact that I left my artwork in an open museum, next to a large number of artistic works sculpted by artists from all over the world, is proof of my love for Egypt, and I hope it will remain there for 5,000 years to come," Dutra told Horus. The diplomat has been the Brazilian ambassador in Cairo for approximately three years now, but he became acquainted with the Arab country 30 years ago, while on a diplomatic mission. "The moment I stepped on Egyptian soil, I was dreaming of the day that I would return," he told Horus.
The ambassador, who holds as degree in Law, became fascinated with art when he was preparing to become a diplomat. While learning about foreign relations work, he also began developing his talent for drawing, painting and sculpting. "I discovered my passion for sculpture when I was training for the diplomatic profession, and I decided to embrace both professions in parallel," he said in an interview published in the Al-Beit - Al-Ahram magazine.
In his daily life, Dutra does what he can to reconcile his two choices, and he knows where the two lines of work converge or diverge. "Diplomacy, as they say, is an art. Nevertheless, it is also a line of work based on negotiating and relating to others, whereas art is purely personal. The piece of art that you create is under your command, you do not need to negotiate with someone in order to provide your work with a given shape. Art also helps an individual to be more humble, because art is all that remains of us. Take, for instance, Nagib Mahfouz (Egyptian writer and Nobel Literature Prize winner who died last year), he passed away but his books are still here with us. Art is strong and it continues to exist," said the ambassador to Al-Beit - Al-Ahram.
According to the magazine, the pieces sculpted by Elim Dutra have a strong dramatic effect, despite their tendency to abstraction. "Some pieces are similar to the totems that are part of the Brazilian cultural heritage, and others have human features. Nevertheless, all pieces bear characteristic aerodynamics that are similar to those of natural formations, and also to the aerodynamics of the human body," according to an excerpt from the article in Al-Beit- Al-Ahram. Regarding the Al-Zaím sculpture, the magazine claims that, although it is devoid of any human feature, it looks "strong, dominating."
*With the collaboration of translator Abdalla Mansur. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum.
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