The Jordanian artist whose world revolves around the simple loofah

The plant has many uses outside the bathroom, says Ibrahim Al Far

Jordanian artist Ibrahim Al Far rolls pieces of the loofah into lampshades and flattens others to use as a canvas for his paintings.

For the bearded, bespectacled Mr Al Far, who started using the loofah as a medium for his art 13 years ago, the plant product still widely used for bathing in the Middle East is “magical”.

“When the light goes through it and hits the ceilings and the walls, the reflection is amazing,” he says from his studio shop called Loofah and String in Jabal Al Weibdeh.

The district is one of the oldest in Amman, a relatively new capital with a small art scene, compared with Damascus and Beirut.

“Inside the piece of loofah is a magical world,” he says as he opens a piece of loofah to show its intricate weblike composition.

“People in the beginning did not believe the sponge we use for washing can produce such pieces,” adds Mr Al Far, a keen recycler who also uses disused loofahs in his work.

“Recycling really exposes you to use different materials.”

In his studio is an old mirror he framed with loofahs and a piece of loofah with painted Arabic script that reads: “Freedom begins where it ends ignorance”, a quote from Victor Hugo. The room also contains abstract paintings on loofah.

“Throwing away stuff that you don’t need any more is a bad idea,” he says. “It can be used in another form.”