By Nam Hyun-woo
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| Yousif Mohammed's painting on Princess Diana in Arabic dress / Courtesy of Nayef Mohammed |
Yousif Mohammed,
a Bahraini artist and architect, is promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula, expressing his hopes to hold an exhibition of his paintings of two Korean leaders at the border area.
In an interview with The Korea Times, the 63-year-old said he wants to remind the Korean people of "who they are and what a war between Seoul and Pyongyang could cause to global society" through his paintings.
"Although I have no experience or acquaintances in both Koreas, I observed the long-lasting tension between South and North Koreas has erupted to a new level," he said.
"The idea is to possibly form an art exhibition between the borders of South and North Koreas so we can display works pertaining to both Korean leaders along with some cultural displays of nature and the history of the Korean Peninsula."
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| Yousif Mohammed / Courtesy of Nayef Mohammed |
Mohammed has been promoting peace in the Middle East with his paintings throughout his life, sketching the region's key political and diplomatic moments, such as the Gulf War and the construction of the King Fahd Causeway, which links Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Of those paintings, a piece on Princess Diana's 1986 visit to the kingdom captured more attention, because it was personally acquired by Bahraini King Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa and was granted to Diana.
According to him, it was the first art work, which depicted Diana clad in Arabic dress.
"Art has always been a common language that anyone would understand as it reflects harmony, compassion and understanding to ultimately touch all kinds of people," Mohammed said.
Mohammed obtained his bachelor's degree in arts and design at Cairo University and is in the process of completing his Ph.D. thesis in architectural engineering and solar energy.
He said that the plan to hold the exhibition is in its initial stages, but they said they have strong hopes to hold it and are currently arranging it.
"We believe that long-lasting peace and prosperity won't be achieved without challenges, hard work and dedication towards fulfilling our goals to sustain a better future," the Mohammed senior said. "We wish and dream for a unified Korea to become a strong, independent and modern country, but at the same time we want people to not forget who they are and where they come from."
According to his son, Nayef, they came here to promote peace while studying engineering through green and solar energy, because energy has been the trigger for many conflicts and wars.
"The exhibition will support my father's envisaged architectural project to allocate a land for building a renewable international health center for people affected by any terrorist attack," Nayef said.
