Egypt, Dana Gas report new well success in onshore Nile Delta    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    UK pay settlements stagnant amid inflation surge    Egyptian pound opens flat on July 23    Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    World Bank proposes Egypt join new global health initiative    Egypt, India discuss expanding industrial, investment partnerships    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Famine kills more Gaza children as Israel tightens siege amid global outrage    Kuwait's Crown Prince, Egyptian minister discuss strengthening cooperation    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Egypt's FM seeks deeper economic, security ties on five-nation West Africa tour    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Mahfouz tightropes over a bridge, ''Nahdet Misr'' travels in a pickup truck
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 08 - 02 - 2012

The French Cultural Center's main hall is currently hosting "Hyperrealisme," a selection of multimedia artist Ramy Dozy's latest works that features mid-sized color photographs of familiar statues from around Cairo.
The images have been reworked and distorted to displace and disfigure the statues, interrupting their iconic status and imbuing them with new meaning. A few of the pieces are instantly familiar, having been digitally released into the public blogosphere over the past year, with some exhibited in the 22nd Youth Salon, but this is the first time they've been collectively displayed, and with many more welcomed additions.
One of the more recognizable photographs features the Naguib Mahfouz statue from Sphinx Square in Mohandiseen. Dozy has edited it in a way that makes Mahfouz appear to be tightrope walking along the handrail barrier of a bridge, instantly transforming the statue's iconic significance into one that borders on the comedic and the absurd.
Another portrays Mahmoud Mokhtar's iconic Nahdet Misr (Egypt's Renaissance) statue in Giza from the side. However it's no longer proudly sitting on its homely, stone platform, but rather, found in the back of a passing pickup truck.
At first sight, it's difficult to gather and convey any personal feelings toward Dozy's exhibit, as the blank-faced statues often prompt a feeling of indifference. However, the pieces are undeniably eye-catching, magnetic, and beautiful to look at, allowing ample time for one to try to understand why.
Dozy's work is iconoclastic in the classic sense, and openly embraces postmodern qualities, such as incongruence and absurdity. But in a similar spirit, the work is also remarkably simple, lending more to the viewer in regards to their subjective meaning.
By simply disfiguring the context of a famous statue, or sometimes parts of the statue itself, Dozy is able to invoke endless speculation.
The artist explains that statues often become symbols of complacency, and that they end up functioning only as historical triumphs, frozen in time, that are continuously milked nostalgically by the people living amongst them until their value becomes completely meaningless.
“In Egypt, we are obsessed with nostalgia to the point that it often becomes all there is,” says Dozy. “These statues are now dirty and irrelevant, and most people don't even know who they are or what they did, yet if you ask, people will behave as if their accomplishments are also their own.”
Other statues featured in the exhibition are singer Om Kalthoum's from the Cairo Opera House in Zamalek, poet Ahmed Shawky's from Dokki, and the statue of Ibrahim Pasha on a horse from Opera Square in Attaba.
“Unfortunately, these statues have become symbols of non-change, placing limits on people's imagination and creativity, which is horrible,” he says.
Dozy says that he disfigures the images of the statues to force people to actually notice them, to once again wonder who these people were, and question why he is altering them. In this regard, Dozy has succeeded, as many visitors on the exhibition's opening night could be heard doing just that.
Dozy believes we should be trying to continuously be inspired and create people worthy of statues, yet not become overly obsessed with the icon itself; an interesting idea, which I enjoyed seeing through the eyes of Dozy very much. The only thing I remember wishing at the end of the visit was that there'd be more pieces to look at.
Upon leaving, I asked to take Dozy's contact info. He pointed to a table near the entrance that had a black stamp on it and hundreds of yellow metro tickets. After stamping a ticket with Dozy's information, I saw the stamp also bore the pharmacy logo of a snake climbing a chalice, except the snake's head had been changed to that of a rooster.
“Hyperrealisme” is on display until 29 February at the French Cultural Center, 1 Madrasset al-Hokok al-Firinssiya Street, Mounira.


Clic here to read the story from its source.