“Nostalgia” is the simple title of the new art exhibition by the established artist Samir Fouad. The exhibition, inaugurated last week at the Picasso Art Gallery in Zamalek, included some 50 oil and water colour paintings. Born in 1944, Fouad started working on “Nostalgia” in 2010. The exhibition reflects his passion for the past mainly through four subjects: women, swings, belly dancers and still life. “The exhibition is a semi-retrospective one,” he says. “It spans the last ten years of my career.” The exhibition, which runs until 10 May, is dedicated to the memory of Seham Fouad, the artist's sister who passed away this year. On entering the exhibition, to the left, a huge painting of a swing shocks one's memory. It portrays a family of four having fun on a coloured iron swing of the kind that used to be frequent in public spaces in Cairo, especially on feast days – a phenomenon that was a symptom of sheer joy, which gradually disappeared as of the beginning of 1980s. The huge swing carries you delightfully through the rest of the exhibition, and softly to your past. The narrow corridor of the gallery is adorned with paintings of flowers in vases and portraits of women in different moods and situations. Still life has always been a major fascination for Samir Fouad and a distinctive aspect of his career. The flowers stand elegantly like beautiful young women trying on their new purple and red dresses in changing rooms. Facing the visitor are two huge landscape paintings of the Nile, in Aswan during daylight. To fans of Fouad, landscapes might be a bit odd. However, completed in 2008, the two paintings are in line with the theme of the exhibition. A Few steps away, there are two adjacent paintings of pomegranates. The first portrays four red fruits, three of them together, one by itself at the end of the table. The second painting features the same fruits but in different motions, obviously featuring a different dialogue. The paintings featuring belly dancers are many, and yet you could say they all portray a single belly dancer in a black dancing suit, in different situations. The swing paintings surprise you once again as you walk forward in the hall. One features a beautiful girl in colourful dress gaily riding the swing all by herself. The painting triggered mixed feelings of beauty, pride, boldness and optimism. But there are different portrayals of the swing, a study of its shape from different angles. *** “Nostalgia” is such a big word, do you feel more nostalgic for people or places, I asked. “Normally I feel nostalgic for a certain time, in particular the late 1950s and 1960s, which bring about the memory of certain people, places or events,” he said. “I think this is due to the fact that these were the richest times in my life; times of discovery, self-development and great expectations. The 1960s were the time when I achieved many goals in my life; I travelled to England for the first time in 1964, graduated in 1966, started my career in IT in 1967 and was married in 1969,” he further explained. But the 1980s were equally significant, “because that was when I decided to start my career in art, frequented the veteran artist Hassan Soliman's studio and started to actively participate in the Egyptian art movement.” Here going back in time is not just related to certain themes but to the colouring technique as well. The exhibition features water colour paintings, a medium which the artist deserted a long time ago, preferring to use oil. Water colours are described by the artist as “a tool that gives the artist unique feelings of freshness, happiness and a unique pleasure; the enjoyment I feel the moment the colour patch is dropped on the white surface is matchless.” Yet nostalgia implies feelings of sadness, longing for memories; what triggered this feeling and when did Fouad feel compelled to start working on this project? “When we get older,” the artist argues, “we feel nostalgic for certain places and people, and for the past in general. We also deplore the fact that our present is too ugly to let us look forward to the future. Maybe because we are experiencing difficult times nowadays. Memories of the good old days are a way to escape to better times. I am actually worried about the future, so I think about the past instead. However, I tend to go to the past to draw positive feelings and to get recharged to continue my art projects anyway.” Going back in time, what ideas pertain to themes or techniques still valid up today? “Swings and the Oriental dancer are the themes that are closely attached to my youth, but when I paint these subjects today or any other theme drawn from the labyrinth of my memories, it automatically takes a visual and conceptual modern shape and meaning.” Nostalgia has been a favourite topic for contemporary artists, such as the internationally renowned Georges Bahgory; how do you compare this exhibition to similar exhibitions done by other artists? “The only comparison I can draw is to retrospective exhibitions made by artists who want to explore and exhibit their contribution to art. I am not in a position to make any other comparisons.” Black, blue and red are the prevailing colours. They bestow a liveliness and unique freshness to the paintings, in stark contrast to its theme. However, the colours of the wooden frames do this job perfectly as they are painted in faint brown that incites in the viewer the need to recall their own nostalgic places and themes. But does Fouad see the exhibited works could as a base for a future project? Can old works be valid as a base for future projects? “Of course, I have been painting swings since 1999. It is how I see the subject and how I interact with it visually that definitely changes from one stage in my career to another. I do not know if I am going to do swings again but I am sure it will be different,” he smiles. “At the moment I have other new projects that I am working on which will leave me no time in the near future to repeat any of the present themes.”
