World-famous sculptor Peter Hayes exhibits work in Oman

World-renowned British sculptor Peter Hayes is exhibiting his work at the Bait Muzna Gallery in Muscat in Oman as part of "Letting The Light In", a unique exhibition.
Speaking to the Times of Oman, the legendary artist said, "The exhibition has got a lot of connotations. My work has got a lot to do with light and I hope that when people look at it they will understand the connotations of the work. I did not know what to expect when Sayyida Susan Al Said invited me here." He was referring to the Founder and Art Adviser of the Bait Muzna Gallery. "She let me travel all over and I must admit I am entirely in love with the place."
His first exhibition in the Sultanate marks another high point in the acclaimed artist's career, which has taken him a long way from his beginnings as a child mixing clay in the United Kingdom.
Looking back, Hayes said, "When I was eight years old, my mother took me to my teacher and said 'what are we going to do with Peter'?. My teacher turned around to my mother and said, 'Your son has got the most lovely talent of art, he may be lousy at everything else, but he's got the unique talent of art'."
"And he made me a clay monitor; we used to have pottery classes when I was eight years old and I used to have to mix clay in the playground and I was so pleased because it got me away from all the mathematics and science lessons, and I have been doing it ever since."
At the age of 24, Hayes discovered a transformative experience in Africa that changed his outlook on art. "I was invited to go to Lesotho in Southern Africa to open a ceramics (and) sculpture operation, which I did, and it was very successful and I did that for 18 months. I trained 28 people to make and create wonderful objects. But we were bringing people down from the mountains and it was a double-edged sword." Taking them away from their families, Hayes said, created problems.
After writing a report detailing how much better it would be for the teaching artisans to go to the mountains themselves, Hayes' proposal was approved. He was later given his own car and two horses, which he used to travel across the country, experience new kinds of pottery, and help artisans take their products to wider audiences, as far away as New York. An 18-month assignment morphed into a 10-year adventure.
After returning to England, Hayes decided travel was his greatest inspiration.
Since that decision, Hayes says he "spent 13 years of my life just travelling. I have been to Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, North America, and I've worked with all these different people from Inuit to Lesotho, Zulu to Maori. And each of them has given me inspiration to work with."
Those influences are on full display at the Bait Muzna, where Hayes wants viewers to see what inspirations are present in each piece. "I want people to look and see the inspirations that I have in mind."
The exhibition has already won an endorsement from one of the Sultanate's most renowned artists. Ayoub Al Balushi, a celebrated Omani sculptor, said, "I visited the exhibition. The artist is very good, and has very good sculptures on display. We hope people will come by and enjoy the art." The exhibition will conclude today, November 29, 2018.