Illuminated letters have always been important in both art history and calligraphy. In Medieval times, the initial at the beginning of each paragraph was illustrated with figures and patterns, with some having their own, different stories to tell.
Eman Osama, an Egyptian artist, created her very own Alphabet of Tales with each letter representing an idea and telling a story. Using a woman as the main character in each tale, Osama hopes to empower women and stir emotions of self-confidence and power without losing the femininity of being a woman.
Inspired by stories of magic and old tales such as Arabian Nights, Osama uses each letter to tell a separate story using black ink on white paper.
“I need to make every woman feel how much they need happiness, freedom, independence but without losing their femininity. For example, the letter T depicts the tale of a woman who feels weak and sad in a world where men are deemed powerful. But even with all the physical power that men have, the woman is still the symbol of spirituality and without her, reaching a certain level of spirituality is impossible,” Osama shares with us.
Osama hopes that her Alphabet of Tales touches every woman’s emotions and brings out her inner most feelings, motivating her to be the main character in her story.
