Saudi Arabian artist makes world’s ‘largest coffee painting’

A Saudi artist has created the world’s “largest coffee painting”, becoming the first woman from the country to achieve a record title single-handedly, the Guinness World Records announced Sunday.

Ohud Abdullah Almalki used expired coffee to illustrate renowned leaders from the kingdom and the neighbouring United Arab Emirates for the 220 square metre (around 2,370 square feet) piece.

“It took me 45 days of continuous work to complete, under the watchful eyes of two witnesses, video recording and drone footage,” Almalki said, according to a Guinness World Records statement.

The artwork, titled “Naseej 1” (meaning “Woven Together”) was created in the Saudi city of Jeddah on a canvas of seven connected cloths.

It features the founding fathers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- the late King Abdul Aziz bin Saud and the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, respectively.

Below them is a series of smaller portraits of other leaders from the two Gulf countries, while the whole work is bordered in the traditional “Al-Sadu” style of Bedouin decoration.

“My aim is to remind the world of the centuries-old entente between the two nations,” Almalki said.

The artist used approximately 4.5 kilogrammes of expired coffee granules to complete the painting, according to the Guinness World Records statement.

Almalki expressed hope that her accomplishment “will contribute to empowering the women in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”

It is the first time a Saudi woman has achieved a record alone, Guinness World Records said, though others have taken part in previous attempts.

In 2015, 8,264 women came together in Riyadh to make the largest “human awareness ribbon”, to raise awareness about breast cancer.

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