Rania Khallaf experiences the shoe effect on Egyptian artists The shoes of Montadhar Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist, have acquired a wide reputation, not only on the political arena but also, so it seems, in the artistic world. It features in exhibition entitled "Shoes" that was launched recently at the Ibdaa Gallery in Mohandessin. The exhibition includes various works of art: sculpture, painting, photography and video art, representing different generations of artists -- and shoes. Facing the viewer is Esmat Dastashi's rather large pyramid board, with old and shredded shoes and slippers fastened to it. Frankly it does not say much, unless one has decided to think of the impact of time on one's own shoes. Adjacent to it is Mohamed Hassan's real boots, with cacti springing out of them. The brown rag with a foot print on it tells more than one really might think of: "Imagine if you have seen a sea without water! What would the sand be like? And if you lived bare-footed; what would you feel about yourself? And what if you lived your whole life like a shoe, not like a man; what would life be like?" Hassan wrote. These were real and shocking questions that I allowed myself to reflect on while I viewed the work from afar, trying to avoid the pebbles spread on the floor. A few steps away are Moataz Nasr's four colour photographs depicting four different categories of shoes: shoes for men, shoes for women, slippers and sports shoes; all brand new and in bright colours. It looks as if shoes, too, are placed like people in different classes and categories. Murad Fakhreddin's sculpted boots, which look like the boots of a dead soldier found after a battle in World War II, stand with an air of pomposity on a rectangular wooden block on which shreds of newspapers are stuck in a reference of the notorious incident when Al-Zaidi threw his shoe at President George W Bush last December, an incident that won great appeal with the world's media. On a similar note, artist Hani Rashed chose to paint a huge, elegant and brightly coloured pair of sports shoes against a red background. On the top of this is a plain, black and white caricature of the famous press conference. "I dealt with the shoe here as a champion. It has actually played an important role, more than many prominent politicians did in supporting the case of Iraq against the American invasion," Rashed says. Equally interesting is Ezzeddin Naguib's painting, which illustrates an old pair of shoes, carelessly thrown on the ground, adjacent to a picture of the Statue of Liberty. For Naguib, the flying shoe is the "No" that uncovered the hypocrisy and the falsifications of the leader of the world and the symbol of the savage globalisation. Amr El-Kafrawi's five enormous drawings reveal another perspective: Four large people, two women and two men, each in a separate frame. In the centre is a portrait of a black shoe. El-Kafrawi opted to draw on recycled paper, using the black etching technique to give the impression of the consumed figure. Now, one realises, it is not only the shoes that people are consuming: people are also being consumed by life itself. Their rather dejected and disappointed features are caused by the unexpected loss of their feet. "I am more interested in drawing still life objects. This is why my 'people' are treated as still life objects," El-Kafrawi commented. "The theme of the exhibition is new and interesting. However, the time was too limited to come up with more unique ideas." He notes that the exhibition could have been more interesting and representative had it been better prepared. A more romantic concept of the shoe is adopted by prominent artist Ahmed Fouad Selim, whose painting depicts some ragged black shoes and, above the shoes, blue scratches and flying feathers. For Selim, the blues of love are there to remind us of Cinderella's beautiful shoe lined with diamonds, and how anxiously the lovers reached for it. This is why it became a symbol of love, Selim said of his dreamy shoes. The exhibition ends on 3 February. So, please take off your shoes before entering this contemporary shoes museum. It really feels good to go barefoot in here and let your imagination run away.
