“Free Devastation”, a solo exhibition by Islam Zaher, is currently on show at Misr gallery. “Free Devastation” is a continuation of Zaher's last show “Passive Constructions” also held at Misr gallery in mid-March 2020. “Free Devastation is a literary concept meaning the uncensored expression of thought for the purpose of forming new conceptual structures. The concept used as the title for the show is a two-sided allusion to both the birth of thoughts and the collapse of structures.” Born in Cairo in 1972, Zaher graduated the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1994. Between 1995 and 1998, he participated in several rounds of the Youth Salon, receiving the second prize in drawing in 1995 and two prizes in 1998, the Prize of the Jury and the International Critics Association (ICA) prize. He also participated in many local and international collective shows. Zaher gave four solo exhibitions: “Out of Vacuum” at Karim Francis Espace gallery, 2005, “Intuited Happiness” at the same gallery in 2010; “Pink and Lamentation” at Misr gallery, 2015, as well as “Remnants of Enchantment” at Gypsum gallery, 2017. The exhibition will run till 31 December. *A version of this article appears in print in the 3 December, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
