Art was the only refuge that Omaima Qaid resorted to, after she became isolated and avoided everyone, to remain with her permanent companion (plastic painting) in which she struggles with her suffering from “disability” with embodied and expressive drawings and diving into this wonderful artistic world in which she finds herself, her character and her struggle.
Omaima (25 years old girls), a resident of the city of Taiz (southwest of Yemen), confirms to "Khuyut", that she confronted all the difficulties she encountered, and was able to master her paintings despite her suffering, as a child, from hearing loss, after suffering infections that made her unable to recognize someone's words while speaking.
Omaima's financial condition did not allow her to purchase a high quality hearing aid; Because of its high cost that she couldn’t afford. As a result, the doctors prescribed to her lower quality and poor quality, which, after three months of use, caused her hearing to deteriorate and her suffering aggravated.
Omaima says that she felt a "grief" (dread) after her hearing deteriorated. This caused her some psychological complications so that she kept herself in isolation from people and society. However, the plastic art helped her break this psychological barrier and separation and to proceed with a force that is indifferent to her situation, to be satisfied with listening to her own paintings.
Omaima shifted from regular painting to painting with oil colors, canvases and papers, so that the number of her artworks reached to 50 paintings.
Dr. Abd Al-Wadood Al-Samae, an ear and throat doctor, explains in an interview with "Khuyut" that the special headphones are sound pumps that help the patient by raising the sound above the level of the disability to be connected to the auditory and nerve receptors, as each patient has an acceptable level of sound amplification and the channels of filtration and purification are determined by audiogram, patient's age and mental state. This can be identified by the otolaryngologist, after careful examination.
Expression of Peace
Many pioneers of plastic art express their suffering due to the war and conflict in Yemen since 2015, in their paintings, but Omaima managed to employ this art to expressing peace messages in Yemen in general, and in Taiz, her city that suffers sever was impacts, in particular.
According to her speech, she resorted to the plastic arts to escape from her painful reality and overcome her disabilities, and from here she began diving into the world of plastic art and developing her artistic skills. She further improved her skills through the use of special websites on the Internet and observations provided by an artist specializing in valuable plastic arts. Additionally, she obtained academic certificates in plastic arts from Taiz University in 2019 as well as a diploma in oil colors and a pencil diploma.
Furthermore, Omaima shifted from regular painting to painting with oil colors, canvases and papers, so that the number of her artworks reached 50 paintings.
Success tools
The most important thing for her, according to Omaima, was the encouragement of her family, especially her father, who left her and passed away. Then, her mother continued to carry out the task of sponsoring and encouraging her to reach the goals that she set for herself in the world of plastic art. This is confirmed by her mother, who loves to watch her children in the highest ranks; So she also fought for her daughter with everything she had to support and inspire her, expressing her pride in her daughter, and dreaming of the day when Omaima becomes a world-class painter.
This parental support was reflected on Omaima, who spares no effort in order to continue her accomplishment and defy difficulties to achieve her dream with all strength and determination, without tire or boredom, so that her mother and family can be proud of her.
Nevertheless, Omaima went through difficult times in mastering her artistic skills due to social lack of awareness that does not appreciate art as she asserted. She further pointed out that she faced some difficulties from a technical point of view due to the lack of good tools and materials that can show the strength of her artistic works and their uniqueness with their distinctive colors. The painters and plastic artists are forced to order such professional tools and materials from outside Yemen while Omaima could not maintain because of its high costs.
