Sara Shakeel's powerful image has been shared thousands of times online. Sara Shakeel / Instagram
Sara Shakeel's powerful image has been shared thousands of times online. Sara Shakeel / Instagram
Sara Shakeel's powerful image has been shared thousands of times online. Sara Shakeel / Instagram
Sara Shakeel's powerful image has been shared thousands of times online. Sara Shakeel / Instagram

Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel's crystal-covered image of exhausted medical worker sends powerful message


Sophie Prideaux
  • English
  • Arabic

Some images are so powerful, they make you stop in your tracks.

And when Pakistani artist Sara Shakeel shared her latest work on Instagram, that is exactly what happened for thousands of her followers.

Shakeel is known for her crystal art, adding a shimmering layer to everyday pictures and items. And her latest image has really struck a chord amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The picture shows an exhausted medical worker, sat with his head bowed in a hospital waiting room. His blue scrubs and personal protective equipment are covered with Shakeel’s trademark crystals, making him shine.

“So I posted this as a story, and after a while, I was bombarded with messages by all of you asking me to post this image ... so it could be shared with your loved ones working in the healthcare community,” Shakeel said, posting the image on her Instagram page. “But now I have a better idea.

“For all those who know a fellow healthcare member, or is one, please send me your images [and] pictures and give me the honour of creating sparkling artworks out of you all!” said Shakeel.

Sara Shakeel has been inspired to launch a series after posting the photo to Instagram. Sara Shakeel / Instagram
Sara Shakeel has been inspired to launch a series after posting the photo to Instagram. Sara Shakeel / Instagram

“Though I personally cannot be a part of the healthcare community, I would love to contribute as much as I can with whatever ‘art’ I have.”

Shakeel has asked people to send their pictures, or tag her in their posts and let her know what they are doing "for us and for mankind together".

The artist has already got to work on transforming a number of pictures of doctors, nurses and other frontline workers around the world, sharing the finished images on her Instagram Stories.

Shakeel, who is based in Pakistan, has amassed almost a million Instagram followers in the three years since she began posting her crystal-encrusted images.

She works with both physical and digital art, having taught herself how to use Photoshop after initially training to work as a dentist.

Shakeel has since worked with the likes of Chance the Rapper and Huda Beauty, and created artworks using images of many prominent people, including fellow Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai:

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)

Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)

Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)

Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)

Dubai World Cup nominations

UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer

USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.

Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS

Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)

Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye

Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine

Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye

Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)

Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)

Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra

Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh

Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar

Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine

 

UAE Premiership

Results

Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes

Final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, Friday, March 29, 5pm at The Sevens, Dubai

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.4-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20with%2048V%20mild%20hybrid%20system%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E544hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%20at%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh700%2C000%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Elate%20November%3C%2Fp%3E%0A