Egyptian artist creates portraits out of burnt tobacco
A portrait of actor Johnny Depp made of tobacco, by artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk, burns in Alexanria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - In a small studio littered with empty cigarette packets in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, Abdelrahman al-Habrouk sits hunched over a sheet of paper making portraits with tobacco.
The cigarettes fuel his art; he breaks them in half, painstakingly traces out monochrome images of celebrities or animals with the fine flakes of tobacco, then sprinkles his creations with gunpowder and sets them on fire.
The resulting scorch-marks on the white paper form the portrait.
Artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk creates a portrait of the actor Johnny Depp with tobacco in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Habrouk, now 23, started using unusual materials to make images a couple of years ago, experimenting with coffee, salt and sand before settling on the tobacco technique because it is more durable.
"The idea is that I'm trying to make the art live longer," he told Reuters.
"I wanted to make something good out of something that is considered harmful," he added.
Artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk creates a portrait with tobacco in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
(Reporting by Sayed Sheasha; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk, who creates portraits with tobacco and sets them on fire, poses for a photo in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyArtist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk creates a portrait of the Egyptian actor Adel Imam with tobacco in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyArtist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk creates a portrait of the Egyptian actor Adel Imam with tobacco in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyA portrait of the Egyptian actor Adel Imam made of tobacco by artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk, burns in Alexanria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyA portrait of the Egyptian actor Adel Imam made of tobacco by artist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk, burns in Alexanria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanyArtist Abdelrahman al-Habrouk creates a portrait of the actor Johnny Depp with tobacco in Alexandria, Egypt August 10, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
