A Saudi artist has taken the famed Mona Lisa portrait and given her own take on the classic, by turning the subject into a ballerina playing with a yo-yo.

 

Najla al-Qaseer said her version of the Mona Lisa took five months to complete. During that time she used a number of techniques and materials including graphic design, coal, newspaper shreds, and crayons.

 

“I used a collage of a mix of images to personify the idea which I had considered for some time, I kept asking myself how the portrait would have looked if Da Vinci had completed it,” she told Al Arabiya.

 

“How would she or her portrait look now?” She added.

 

Adopting a contemporary approach, Qaseer said she sketched the Mona Lisa as if she was free of the restrictions of that time by indulging in taboo. A “chunky ballerina Liza” entertaining herself.

 

“I was anxious about how people will perceive my unusual art but it was a nice surprise how fashionable it was and admired by visitors to my exhibition,” she told Al Arabiya.