A local artist has created innovative artwork inspired by the shape and formation of chess pieces, in a tribute to the ancient form of the game developed by Muslims in antiquity.

Ghazal Abul-Ala, 25, said she also chose chess as the theme for her work because of the intellectual rigor needed to be successful at playing it.

“I chose chess to crown my exhibition at the Okaz market. I researched the idea and concluded that it was worth implementing. I tried to transform it into something different and produced mosaic patterns in relief and hollow designs with the game’s pieces,” she said.

She said that she wanted to pay tribute to those early Muslims who helped develop the game and made it part of Arab culture.

She said it is time-consuming and difficult to complete mosaics. The clay is first stretched and fortified, shaped into the required design, pieced together and then sprinkled with water to retain its flexibility.

After the design is completed, it is placed in a pottery kiln to harden at a high temperature, which can be adjusted to get the glaze on the product a certain color.

Abul-Ala said she first became interested in abstract art at 13 years of age. Her parents encouraged this passion by enrolling her at a vocational institute. She later took up art studies at university, with plans to become a businesswoman and achieve international success.