By Umer Nangiana

Looking at the sculpture, you feel a giant has twisted and then bent it into a U-shape structure. For only a giant can twist and turn a 400-kilo Omani marble stone piece into such a shape.
But no, it is Mohammed al-Atiq, the Qatari sculptor, who is the ‘giant’ in this case. Such is the intensity of his work and the beauty of the art itself — he has carved out a structure out of the hardest of marbles to make you believe that even the hardest stones can be bent and made to bow, if one wills.
Al-Atiq’s was one of the 12 brilliant and unique ideas for sculptures that came out of Al Asmakh Art Symposium featuring 12 artists from nine countries besides Atiq and Talal al-Dhefairi from Qatar.
The masterpieces were put on display in the lobby of Grand Wyndham Regency Doha on Wednesday as part of Al Asmakh International Sculpture Symposium 2014, organised by Regency Art.
Al-Atiq is not only one of the 12 artists, he is also the General Manager of Regency Art, and thus a coordinator for the symposium as well.
Talking to Community, he said, it was a “great experience.”    
“My work is based on the idea about the forms and space. I challenged myself to make the stone as a flexible media. I have twisted the marble in a way that you feel it’s so easy to do it, and you realise that it (the stone) is very flexible,” said Atiq, adding that the idea was to make people feel how hard media can be made flexible.
He already has experience with 3D programmes, working as a graphic designer at Qatar TV. But it is sculpturing that he feels is his calling — he has finished two professional training programmes in sculpturing.
About the symposium and his participation in it alongside so many international artists, Atiq said, “I am happy to be part of it. As a sculptor, it was challenging but I am happy with the final result. Working with so many artists and professionals was a great experience in itself and I got to learn a lot.”
He said the artists around him appreciated his work because they realise how difficult and hard it is to carve stone this way. The piece weighs 400 kilos and is 80x60x30 in dimension. Atiq worked for five days, spending almost 12 hours a day on it.
He has not decided on a final place for the sculpture but he intends to put it somewhere prominent in the hotel.
Born in 1966 in Doha, Atiq has been the General Manager of Regency Art since 2013. He has also been Chairman of Qatar Fine Arts Society, 2006-2012 and the Deputy Chairman of Qatar Fine Arts Society from 2003-2006.
He has been associated with Qatar TV as graphic designer since 1986. Atiq has also been a member of TellusArt Sweden 2009, founder of Graphic Department Qatari television 1991, founder of the children’s magazine flares 1985, a member of Qatar Fine Arts Society 1987, a member of the Italian group ARCA for the Arts 2002 and Coordinator and workshop organiser Qatar Bob 2002-2003.
He has also been a member Of MADA Contemporary Art Group, General Coordinator Symposium Al Diar 2008-Qatar, General Coordinator of Workshop Friends Assembly 1-2, Coordinator Qatari Exhibition Festival of the Arab Foundation for Democracy 2009, Coordinator Qatari Exhibition (Cyprus), Coordinator Qatari Pavilion in Sana (well by International Forum) 2009, Coordinator Qatari Pavilion (Dhaka Biennale International) 2008 besides being General Coordinator for the first sculpture workshop, Katara.
The Qatari sculptor has participated in the international exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome in 2013. This year, he participated as General Coordinator for the Al Asmakh Art Atelier 2014 and Paris Exhibition 2014.