Moosa Omar Dreamy Beginnings & An Artistic Adventures
Moosa Omar is a mixed media artist whose works reflect elements, stories from daily life and his traditional Omani roots. His unique art has been exhibited and awarded in Oman and widely across the globe.
Let’s be a part of his dreamy beginnings, coloured towns and live an artistic adventure.
Are our childhood dreams still growing inside us?
Moosa Omar was born in 1971 in Mutrah, Oman. He has been painting since his early childhood. Interestingly, his elder brother had a small shop in the ancient town. Moosa always waited there to sketch a man passing with a vegetable carriage daily. Moosa sketched everything that his little brown eyes could catch and grasped anything in the reach of his hands. As you may imagine, his fingers always reached the debts book. Certainly, he sketched every inch from cover to cover! Obviously, the day never ended up as numerous sticky images filled up his mind.
Afterwards, he joined elementary school and found the same passion for art. Moosa was eager to attend the art class that was scheduled once per week! The art teacher showed him the same interest, gifted him colours and sketchbooks. Moosa always won the art competitions and continued equivalent progress in his entire school life!
Simultaneously, his father, may he rest in peace, allowed him to be free for art and never complained that his son was too concerned about arts than anything else. Moosa always enjoyed going with his father to the book shop where he had the privilege to buy sketchbooks and more colours.
Despite the poor sources and lack of resources at that period of time; everyone encouraged him to develop his talent. Beginning in 1990, he joined the Youth Art Studio. Mossa had to walk 2-4 km daily from 6 to 9 pm. Looking at Mossa's sweaty face and dress, the instructor welcomed him to join the art studio and gave him colors & a brush. Nonetheless, told him to grab any canvas he could find in the balcony! Moosa was astonished but it seemed that the instructor was testing Moosa’s patience as much as passion. However, Moosa stored the items in the club's kitchen cupboard! Unexpectedly, once he returned after 2 weeks to join the course. He didn’t find anything!
‘’You have to buy them all; nobody asked you to leave your items there’’, said the instructor.
‘’Where can I buy these items?’’, Moosa quietly replied.
Anyway, the instructor said ‘’ it's the last time you lose items’’.
Overall, he was kind enough to give him a new one!
Again, Moosa waited for the weekends to be in the place he loved. At this stage, Moosa learned the basics, pencil and portray techniques.
From this standpoint, Moosa had significant influence in the abstract and contemporary art in Oman, especially with the establishment of Omani Society for Fine Arts in 1993. In between, he travelled to various countries in order to discover the art and culture in depth. He had learnt to cope with the difficulties and moved forward in front of the challenges. Being self-dependent granted him strength and focus. Indeed, he appreciates the great support of his parents, wife, friends and everyone who was like a rose or a thorn in his path. Since then, he has held over 15 solo exhibitions, honoured and awarded in Oman and all over the world.
‘’Those towns wouldn’t have arisen and coloured without the pure inspiration that my mother made inside me, whose soul soared towards the heavens. My mother used to collect newspaper clippings that published my paintings to hide it under my pillow. I still wonder, until this moment, about the secret of her choice of this place. Why the pillow and not any other place? ’’ Moosa Omar, coloured town exhibition, 2006
With a sincere faith in his dream, town and vision, Moosa’s art is seeking to resist the silence applied with all its heaviness and its lightness on the soul. Since all are reflections of our feelings, events, places, smells that are stored in memory. Definitely, poetry amazes and derives the texture of Moosa’s paintings as actually he owes poetry the deepening of his vision of all the elements of the universe and its creatures. Besides, the graffiti and symbols inscribed on the walls as well as traditional engravings on old houses and costumes. All of these elements fill the skies of his paintings, utilising the local materials such as sheets of palm rugs, pieces of colourful cloth rugs and Balochi embroidery.
‘’Too, I wouldn’t have built my towns without my father’s hand. Each moment his caring hand patted me on the shoulder, at every turn, and at each star I picked up from the sky to place in the space of my painting. With their eyes and fingers I’ve constructed and painted all my dreamy towns’’. Moosa Omar, coloured town exhibition, 2006