César Baldaccini’s ‘The Fist’ sculpture dates back to the early 80s and represents one of the most important artistic sculptures of Jeddah. It has a surface area of nearly 12 square meters and is four meters high. Made of steel, the sculpture’s edges are in need of restoration and it needs fresh coat of color. — SG photo

 

Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — After successfully completing the first phase of the restoration of Jeddah’s artistic and famous sculptures, Jeddah Municipality, in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI), has started the second phase of the restoration project.



The first phase saw 26 sculptures along the Central Corniche restored. Twenty of these restored sculptures were placed in the new Jeddah Sculptures Museum, located north of Al-Anani Mosque, which was inaugurated last March by Prince Mishaal Bin Abdullah, Emir of Makkah region.



The ALJCI team and Jeddah Municipality have started the second phase of restoring two most famous sculptures in Jeddah: ‘The Fist’ by one of the world’s renowned French artists, César Baldaccini, and ‘The Verse’ by Spanish artist Julio Lafuente.



Mohammed Yami, Manager of the Corporate Social Responsibility Department at Jeddah Municipality, emphasized that the aim of this project is to promote the fruitful cooperation with ALJCI.



“ALJCI is proud to present this restoration project as a social and patriotic gift to the residents and visitors of Jeddah, as well as a token of our love and appreciation to the nation and its people.



Through this project ALJCI wishes to protect the artistic heritage the city of Jeddah has accumulated over the years,” Zain Zedan, Manager of Art Jameel in Saudi Arabia, said.



She said the second phase would require a great amount of effort from Saudi companies as well as international specialists in restoring artifacts and artistic sculptures.

 

“Then there’s the challenge of location as the sculptures of the second phase are located in the squares of the main streets. Restoring them on-site will not be easy,” she added.



César Baldaccini’s ‘The Fist’ sculpture dates back to the early 80s and represents one of the most important artistic sculptures of Jeddah. It has a surface area of nearly 12 square meters and is four meters high. Made of steel, the sculpture’s edges are in need of restoration and it needs fresh coat of color.



‘The Verse’ sculpture is an artistic masterpiece by the Spanish architect Julio Lafuente.



The sculpture is shaped like a boat, located on the intersection between Prince Sultan and Al-Salam Street. The sculpture has a surface area of 128 square meters, it is 5 meters high and weighs 5.5 tons. The internal and external restoration and maintenance work of this sculpture is expected to take four to six weeks.



It is worth mentioning that, ALJCI previously, also in collaboration with Jeddah Municipality, managed the construction of the 7,000-square-meter Jeddah Sculptures Museum.



The 20 sculptures kept in the museum feature those of globally renowned artists, like the UK’s Henry Moore, France’s Victor Vasarely and Spain’s César Baldaccini and Joan Miró, as well as the American artist Alexander Calder and German sculptor Jean Arp.



The museum stands as an example of a successful public-private non-profit community initiative.



British restoration experts were recruited to restore the artistic sculptures to their original form.