Tashkeel is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Wissam Shawkat, marking over two decades of continuous exploration, refinement, and evolution in Arabic script practice. 

Al Wissam Script occupies a space between heritage and innovation. Its letterforms draw from a range of historical sources, including Eastern Kufic, Thuluth, Diwani Jali, and Ottoman tughras, while reconfiguring their principles through years of repetition, testing, correction, and refinement, always led by the hand.

Al Wissam Script did not emerge as a premeditated artistic project, but as an organic response to functional need. Developed between design practice and calligraphic discipline, it was born from the challenge of using Arabic letterforms within contemporary graphic and branding contexts, without compromising the integrity of classical scripts. What began in 2004 as experimentally hand-drawn solutions for logo design, gradually evolved into a distinct calligraphic system with its own internal logic, visual rhythm, and expressive capacity.

This exhibition marks twenty-two years of continuous evolution. Al Wissam Script is presented not as a finished system, but as a living, adaptive practice, one that continues to transform through use, observation, and critical reassessment. It stands as an ongoing inquiry into how Arabic calligraphy can remain relevant, expressive, and grounded in its cultural and aesthetic foundations.

Exhibition-related Activities

Al Wissam Script Talk 

Al Wissam Script Workshop