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Calligraphy, Sculpture Unify Artworks, Structures at Moroccan-Spanish Exhibition

The “Role of Paper” exhibition includes two types of works, one of which is known as experimental sculpting (Rida Tadlawi)
The “Role of Paper” exhibition includes two types of works, one of which is known as experimental sculpting (Rida Tadlawi)
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Calligraphy, Sculpture Unify Artworks, Structures at Moroccan-Spanish Exhibition

The “Role of Paper” exhibition includes two types of works, one of which is known as experimental sculpting (Rida Tadlawi)
The “Role of Paper” exhibition includes two types of works, one of which is known as experimental sculpting (Rida Tadlawi)

The Hassan II Center for International Forums, in the Moroccan city of Asilah, recently hosted a collective exhibition by Moroccan-Spanish artist Said al-Masari and Syrian-Spanish Ali Sultan.

The exhibition blends calligraphy and stone sculpting, unify artworks and structures of two artists from the West and the East, and reflects the multicultural pattern of the Cultural Moussem of Asilah Festival through contemporary art.

Held as part of the 44th edition of the Cultural Moussem of Asilah Festival, one of the exhibitions showcases graphics and 3D visual arts under the theme “Artistic Ingenuity”.

Ali Sultan told the media that his exhibition, “Suleiman and Salaawi” displays 22 of his stone-printed artworks accompanied by a text by Francisco Fernández Naval. “The works are inspired by the memory of a child, me in this case, who was born and raised listening to popular stories and myths that formed the Syrian vocal heritage,” he added.

For his part, artist Said al-Masari said his exhibition, dubbed “Role of Paper”, includes artworks made using two different techniques, adding that “it features two types of works, one known as experimental sculpting that led to the structures. The other type relied exclusively on paper to create an artistic expression.”

Ali Sultan was born in Syria, studied in Damascus, and later moved to Galicia, Spain, where he developed the comic novel “Suleiman and Salaawi”. He belongs to the fourth generation of Syrian artists who inherited the traditions of the Damascene artistic renaissance during the second half of the 20th century.

Said al-Masari was born in Tetouan, in 1956. He graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in the city, and later studied at the fine arts school of Spain’s Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He wrote articles on culture and art in newspapers and magazines, drew book covers and designed posters, and oversaw calligraphy and sculpting workshops in Spain, Italy, and Morocco.

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Scientist Bottles Smell of Bones to Help Solve Cold Cases

Belgian research scientist Clement Martin, who works with Belgium's federal police to create a "perfume" that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains, looks at human bones in his laboratory in Gembloux, Belgium January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Belgian research scientist Clement Martin, who works with Belgium's federal police to create a "perfume" that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains, looks at human bones in his laboratory in Gembloux, Belgium January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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Scientist Bottles Smell of Bones to Help Solve Cold Cases

Belgian research scientist Clement Martin, who works with Belgium's federal police to create a "perfume" that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains, looks at human bones in his laboratory in Gembloux, Belgium January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Belgian research scientist Clement Martin, who works with Belgium's federal police to create a "perfume" that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains, looks at human bones in his laboratory in Gembloux, Belgium January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

A Belgian research scientist is working with the federal police to create a scent that mimics the smell of dried human bones to help sniffer dogs find long lost remains.

Clement Martin has already isolated the smell of decomposing human flesh and that is now used to train Belgium's cadaver dogs.

But once the soft tissue has disappeared, the scent molecules of the remaining bones become significantly fewer, scientific researcher Martin told Reuters.

"Bones smell different over the years too. A 3-year-old bone will smell different to a 10-year-old one and even 20 years," he said.

Skeletal remains are porous too and absorb smells from the surrounding environment, from the soil to pine trees.

"In the situation of cold cases, there was a gap. Our dogs were not able to find dried bones," Kris Cardoen, head of federal police dog training, told Reuters.

At a police training centre outside Brussels, inspector Kristof Van Langenhove and his springer spaniel Bones demonstrated part of the training with Martin's corpse scent.

Cardoen hid some tissues between cinder blocks and only contaminated a few. The dog then barked when he found the smell.

"The scent of death is one of the three tools we use during the basic training of our human remains dog," Cardoen said.

Cadaver dogs require 1,000 hours of training and the country only ever has four at any one time.

Martin is using different samples of dried bones to develop the smell, including those of an unidentified man found in a suitcase, which are kept in a glass cylinder to allow the molecules to permeate an enclosed space ready for extraction.

"It's a bit like a perfumer developing his perfume, he's going to mix different aromas," Martin said.