Accident and chance have always been key elements in Samer’s practice.  An invitation to a forum in Morocco allowed the sculptor to turn to printmaking. In 1981, he was invited to attend the Asilah Art Festival (Moussem Culturel International d’Assilah) in Morocco amongst artists like Mohammed Melehi and Monirul Islam. 

Inside the forum’s shared painting studio, Samer observed the unavailability of sculpture tools and materials, and welcomed the happy accident as an opportunity to play.

One day I found myself without my tools, and I was forced to consider new forms, using my old ways.

– Samer Tabbaa

Samer experimented with printmaking using a chisel, hammer and rough sandpaper. He maneuvered his way onto a zinc sheet the only way a sculptor knows how, by carving into its depths and manipulating its surface. On it, Samer chiseled impressions of masses, akin to mountain peaks in a desert aerial view, floating on delicate lines flowing like the shifting sands of dunes.

At Assilah, Samer was presented with a modest set of colors that allowed him to produce his Artist’s Proof. Then upon their return to Spain, Tabbaa worked closely with Spain-based master printmaker and friend Monirul Islam to produce 79 prints of the accidental zinc plate with an intentional color scheme. 

By the end of the year, the Arabian desert was calling, and the prints were acquired by Jeddah-based Rochan Gallery, while Samer got busy working on a commission for the newly established King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh which was set to open in 1983.