Nader Habib takes a look behind the curtains at an unusual exhibition The making of an artistic production, be it a play, a film or a portrait, and the reactions that accompany the process form the backdrop to this unique and creative art exhibition by two brothers, Emad and Ayman El-Meiri. Their aim is to highlight the intimate relationship between the artist and the product, and more exclusively to depict the very human feelings and responses that go on behind the curtain that are generally unnoticed by others. The exhibition, opened last week by Mohsen Shaalan, chairman of the Plastic Arts Sector at the Saad Zaghloul Cultural Centre, will continue until 14 November and are being looked on as a first phase of a project focussing on this topic. The brothers were born in Qosiya, the second largest town in Assiut governorate. They grew up greatly influenced by their frequent visits to Meir, the home of their father and an ancient village with a history dating back to the Pharaonic era. Evidence of this can be found in the ancient Egyptian and Roman antiquities scattered about. As somewhere that depends for its existence on agriculture, Meir is rich pickings for artists and photographers with its rural scenes and perpetual sunshine. The items exhibited in one of the rooms at the centre, all executed in Carrara marble, reflect varied huge shapes that in one way or another resemble, at least in spirit, the ancient architecture of Meir. Both Emad and Ayman studied Fine Arts at Cairo University. Ayman, the younger brother who graduated in 2008, concentrates on depicting the very small details in his works, while Emad's approach is more abstract. "The main idea behind Kawalees [What's Behind the Curtain] is that we needed to come up with a new idea," Ayman El-Meiri says. Their latest exhibition was held at the Opera House in 2006 and was entitled "Triples". The brothers were then helping to run artistic workshops for the mentally disabled. Their involvement in the cause resulted in several projects, notable among which was the Peace mural exhibited at the Sadat metro station. "We felt that we were stereotyped as artists who work for voluntary projects, so we needed to break that wall," says Emad. "We thought of a brand new idea, and started doing the very initial sketches for sculpture. We defined the material and then found out that the best material was Italian Carrara marble, which has a beautiful texture that gives us a feeling of warm intimacy, and sets our mood. "After we have agreed on the subject, we faced another problem: time limit. Because of an overlap we were given less than a month to finish our work. It was like a challenge, a bridge that would transfer you to the other side of the world. We took the challenge. And we had decided to lock ourselves inside the studio until we finished," Emad continues. "We had some sculptures to finish at St Mina's Monastery [near Alexandria] when we were notified of the new deadline for our exhibition. We were confused, but now we think it could not be better. We had to do the two jobs simultaneously. It was a peculiar chance; to do the sculpture in that quiet, vast and illuminating place. "In fact, the monks were a great help. They provided us with all the material we needed. Although it was hectic, it was an unforgettable experience. We worked all day and night." "We had to produce 12 marble statutes in two weeks. It was a tough job, especially when we work without any assistants," Ayman adds. Among several interesting pieces on show is "The Boat", made by Ayman, which has a peculiar story. "I was looking for a huge piece to fit my idea. And it took me some time until I finally found it one morning. It took me four days of continuous work to finish this piece. I was working on it both from inside and out, with great care so that it would not break. "The thing here is that if any piece was broken, I would need to start the whole thing from the very beginning." Another piece by Ayman is "Toba", which takes its name from one of the coldest months in the Coptic year. "It was terribly cold in the desert where the monastery is located, so I thought it might be a good idea to make a statue that tells me more about how the bitter cold reflects on humans," he says. "When you look at this piece you don't see any detail because in winter we tend to cover our bodies to the extent that we almost become one thing. "Even in such cold weather I wanted not to use gloves so as to feel the block I was working on. Sometimes, and because of the dust coming out of the sculpture, I couldn't see the block, it is only then when my hand works like a trained and oriented eye." "A Marble Block on Sand" is the name of another piece by Emad. "It looks a bit bizarre, but that's because I found it in the desert as it is." he says. "The only difference is that it was one piece when I saw it standing proudly on the sand. I wanted to convey it to the exhibition with only very superficial changes, but then I thought I needed to work on it. After a while, the piece was transferred into two pieces. I wanted to reflect the relationship between body and mind; when man thinks and creates, his thought must be isolated from his body, but the two things still exist in one space. As for sand, it signifies our reality that cannot be separated from our very existence." Both brothers claim the pioneering sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar as their mentor. The spirit of his style can especially be traced in Ayman's works. "Most of Mokhtar's works are also made of Carrara marble," Emad says. "So, it was interesting to study his works and the way he treated the material, where he started and how he finished his exceptional pieces." Emad recounts an amusing incident that took place while they were in the process of preparing for the exhibition: "It was raining on the day when we were transporting the works from the workshop in the monastery to Cairo. I was very annoyed because the sponge that covered the marble works could change the original colour of the marble when it was wet. So we stopped more than once on the road to look for cardboard boxes or plastic sheets to cover the pieces. And then, when we finally found some plastic sheets the rain suddenly stopped. The following day, we woke up after a hectic, sleepless night, to find ourselves in a very light-hearted mood. We were laughing hysterically and without reason, and then when we had finally stopped laughing we felt as if we had slept for a whole year." For the El-Meiri brothers, art is not a profession; it is a kind of social action, integration with society as a whole, in its moments of happiness and gloom. Their dream, they say, is to work on more challenging material and to reach more art lovers everywhere on earth.
