For Fayoum artist, gravel becomes art

You will see him wandering the streets of Tunis, the small village on the banks of Lake Qarun in Fayoum, picking up gravel and stones from the ground to use it in his art.

 

Fadi is a decorator who paints on gravel. “I picked up this type of painting from the Internet,” he said. “I have been doing this for over a year now.”

 

“Gravel is around us in abundance, but nobody thought of using it in art,” he said. “I pick it up without knowing what I will paint on it.”

 

“I prefer not to change the color of the gravel or its shape,” he explained. “I use it as it is.”

 

Fadi takes five hours to paint a single stone. “A complete work may take days to finish,” he said. “I use gravel to ornament gardens and swimming pools. I also use it for interior decoration.”