Samar Yahya

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Saad Bin Mohammed likes to introduce himself as a "Global Citizen."



He is a writer who has four books to his credit apart from being a part time painter.



Mohammad's paintings make you think deeply and go beyond the outlines, colors and figures.



The young writer and painter admires Salvador Dali, Gustave Dore, Da Vinci, and draws inspiration from the famous singer Fairouz.



Recently two of his symbolic paintings were on display at the "UNstiched" exhibition held at Naila Gallery in Riyadh with one of the unique thobe designers in the  Kingdom, Lomar.



"Literature is a sort of art. Whatever I cannot write I put it on painting. Painting is the completion of my ventilation," he said.



He appreciates the works of Ghada Al Samman and Yousef Zidan and "The blue elephant" by Ahmad Murad.



He said the Egyptian writer, Nabil Farouk, is one of the very few good writers, but he has limited himself to the teen's genre.



Books which Mohammad read time and again are by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Naguib Mahfouz, especially the latter's "Awlad Haratna (Children of our alley) — a very powerful, symbolic, and deep novel.



Mohammad is deeply influenced by the works of the writers he reads. He believes that every work of a writer is a new challenge.



His first two books — "Ana…! (Me...!)" and "Ana...Mara Okhra (Me...Again)" were published anonymously.



The third book of the series "Me...Finally" will release next year. Mohammad's third published book "Qeel Wa Radadtu (Said and I replied) is a conversational book, written in a poetic language.



His latest release "Khalf Al Ana (Behind The I) is an internal monologue, in which “I” is the general “I” that represents the reader. “The reader might associate a part of him/herself with the writer."



Mohammad said: "I consider that the biggest gift that God gave us is our minds. God is fair. Speak out your mind and you may help someone else by giving life."



He added: "It is all based on self discovery of the characters. I believe it is very difficult to connect the dots with unknown characters. I respect the reader, who is an average person, and it is left to him to apprehend it the way he likes."



Mohammad said unanswered questions motivate him to write. "Ever since my memory started to develop and I started observing the surroundings around me I started writing about what I am thinking and not what I am feeling.



"We all have a life, we interact with everything around us. I do not take things as they are. I like to think about the motive behind each action. There is always a variety of meanings, no absolute of anything."



Mohammad said self-discovery is his message. "I love criticism and hate hypocrisy. I can accept other people opinion and I need them to accept me as I am."



He appreciates women's role in the Shoura Council. "I can see that women have a powerful and greater role in society, in spite of that the current situation is that in the Arab societies sites man as the dominant gender."