Cape Town - With the rise of digital technology and tools used for the creation of artwork, local Athlone resident and renowned Islamic calligrapher and artist Achmat Soni, 74, reflected on the deeply spiritual, disciplined and emotional nature of his work done by hand.
Soni single-handedly painted the domes, mihrabs (prayer niche in the mosque in the direction of Makkah), and walls of several mosques in South Africa and abroad using simplistic methods which included the use of a stick to determine the length and size of the artwork.
At 15 years old, Soni left school to work and financially assist his family.
Turning 16 made it possible to obtain an apprenticeship at the Simon’s Town Naval Base where he was initially tasked to paint boats and shops.
Due to his small stature, he was redirected to the artistic workshop where he would create naval badges, certificates and signage. This would be a role he would occupy for 25 years.
“While I was in the dockyard, I was still painting and doing artwork at home, painting flowers and anything that comes to mind. Arabic calligraphy was never really part of my life until one night (while experiencing art block) I was reciting the Qur’an and when I saw the first page of the Qur’an, I said I want to paint that and that is where it started.”
The very first Islamic artwork created by Soni was based on the first page of the holy Quran, a piece he still has with him today.
In 1989, Soni was approached by Abdullah Gangraker, a trustee of Masjidul Quds in Rylands, to paint the dome of the masjid.
“He heard about me doing Islamic art that was only after a year or two, and he heard about me and found me and said I would like you to do a dome. I said I haven’t done a dome yet. Nobody in South Africa has ever done a dome yet. He said we can sort things out as we go along. We will work it out, take up this challenge.
“My experience in domes is also a conversation that I had with God to be honest with you. I refused part of the payment, but said let there be more. And true to God's plan, 72 (mosque art pieces) came after that.”
After completing the dome as Masjidul Quds, he shared that he had received both positive and negative feedback on the artwork.
“Negatives will always come along. There are always people that will sort of try and pull you down. But if I had to listen to them, I would've been a hopeless artist for the rest of my life. I ignored them and carried on, whether right or wrong, I carried on.”
Thirty-four years later and at the age of 74, Soni completed his latest dome artwork at the Darul Islam Mosque in Surrey Estate. This particular artwork comprises 34 panels, each 2.1m by 700mm, done on three layers of canvas.
Over the years, he has completed 25 domes with one taking between two or three months to complete.
Soni completed all works from his garage and a 2x3m workstation at his residence in Soni Road, unexpectedly named after him upon request that the nameless street be recognised in 1978. His home alone houses around 150 paintings.
Soni is also credited for starting the Islamic art movement in 1982 with the application of paint to the already existing Arabic calligraphy at the time. He started the South African Foundation of Islamic Art (Safia) for the promotion of Islamic art.
In total, 73 works by Soni can be found in mosques across the country and abroad with about 1 500 individual works of art in South Africa.
Every year since 1989, Soni has been producing art for mosques.
“We don’t want to copy other people all the time. I don’t think art is supposed to be like that. I did a mosque in Khayelitsha and I did it in Ndebele art and that is what I want to see. I want to see our mosques looking more African. It's got to look African. But to convince the people to do that type of thing is going to take a long time, but I’m planting the seeds already so that one day, we can have our own style and not be confused,” he said.
“The only thing that worries me really is computerising things. I can see everybody now is looking for an easy way out. They don't want to do things by hand, they’re looking for how to do this quicker. Everything must be done now and that’s killing art off, especially Islamic art.
“Islamic art is an art form of discipline, because Islam is a disciplined way of life. You’ve got your five prayers that you’ve got to do, you’ve got to fast and you can't skip and say, I'm not going to make salaah today. There’s no such thing. It's a very disciplined form and that is why this art was created.
“You’ve got to be an extremely disciplined person, to be able to do a pattern for a month, the same pattern, the same thing day in, day out. If you can't do that, then forget about it.”
Due to his age, Soni is assisted by his son, Shaheen who too is an artist, in installing the pieces, but he shared that he had no plans to retire soon.
“No, don't say that. My hands are starting to pain, I don’t know if it’s arthritis or something like that, (but) you can’t take that away from me.”
