WEST BANK: Young deaf/mute Palestinian artist uses drawing as a means of communication

Record ID: 561387

  • Title: WEST BANK: Young deaf/mute Palestinian artist uses drawing as a means of communication
  • Date: 26th December 2007
  • Summary: MOHAMMED SHAABAN HOLDING PHOTOS OF PAINTING HE HAS DRAWN (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 10th January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA878XCX1DIX99ZEHZM8LVZLJHS
  • Story Text: A young deaf Palestinian finds a way to express himself and reach out to his community through his art.
    Drawing for Mohammed Basem Shaaban started as a way for him to communicate with children his age and to be noticed and accepted by them.
    Mohammed, who is 22 years old, cannot hear or speak.
    His brother Mahmoud, who is also Mohammed's interpreter and translates his sign language into Arabic, explains how Mohammed started drawing and painting as a child.
    "He learned how to draw as a child and he would express his feelings through drawing. He didn't know how express himself by talking so he would grab a pen and paper and keep on drawing until he got everybody's attention and they started showing attention," Mahmoud said.
    Mohammed, who lives in the West Bank village of al-Jalameh near Jenin, recently began painting a large outdoor mural -- a portrait of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat -- on an outdoor wall in the village.
    The young artist went to a special school for the deaf until the age of 14, learning how to communicate through sign language. After completing his schooling, he spent much of his time drawing and painting. Mahmoud taught himself sign language so that he could communicate with his deaf brother.
    Mohammed's paintings includes portraits of political leaders and other dignitaries, as well as scenes of natural beauty, some imagined and some depicting natural scenes around him.
    Mohammed said his drawings and paintings express his feelings and hopes, and have been greatly appreciated by the residents of his village, especially the children. The al-Jalameh boy scouts band organised a special performance to thank him for the paintings with which he adorned walls in the Children's Public Park in the village.
    "He says that all his paintings -- and he has painted a lot -- are never the same," Mahmoud said, interpreting for Mohammed.
    "He always paints different shapes, and through each new piece, he is able to express himself more and more," Mahmoud added.
    Local fame came to Mohammed after he won second place in a national drawing competition four years ago.
    Mahmoud explained: "Since Mohammed was a child, he has always liked drawing with pencils. He once made a drawing which was displayed in a gallery. The picture was of a horse and it looked nice how he drew it in pencil. A woman from the ministry of culture, Najwa Zreik, saw the picture and she liked it, and that was when Mohammed was 18 years old. So she asked Mohammed to take part in a national Palestinian competition and Mohammed took second place. The picture was of a Palestinian harvest scene with a woman helping her husband. After taking second prize, people showed interested in him and they, the Ministry of Education and the Jenin Municipality, used him as a volunteer to decorate the walls of Jenin. During this voluntary work, Mohammed started to use different paint colours and experiment with them and this was his starting point when he really began to show his creativity"
    In addition to voluntary work in the Jenin area, Mohammed works for the municipality and the ministry of education office in Jenin, covering walls and other public places with murals.
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