CAIRO: “Politica” is a new exhibition taking place at Zamalek's Safar Khan Gallery throughout February featuring a series of interesting and slightly comical paintings by the young painter Ahmed Kassim. In essence, it could be thought of as a caricature taking the form of a painting with its cunning use of the social patterns and attitudes to put together an overall picture of Egypt's social situation. Kassim fits all his characters conveniently into a game scenario. In one of his main portraits, Pacman Egyptian society become the object of focus as they struggle to live on their daily dose of bread. The Egyptian character is formed like the small pacman we usually see in the actual video game and eats small bits of bread as he progresses throughout the maze. In his work, Kassim uses symbolic elements such as tanks and other military vehicles to portray them obstacles for the typical Egyptian's ideal democratic life. In other works, Kassim also uses the Snakes and Ladders game. What's most intriguing about Kassim is the way in which he weaves his characters into environment to create a scenery which is wrapped around the character. In his piece about modesty, he talks about the two extremes that have emerged among women in Egypt. With the influx of migrants from the Gulf, many Egyptians have taken with them the socially conservative trends of the Muslim orthodoxy in the Gulf and as a result the niqab has come a common trend among women like never before. On the other hand, women are also under social pressure from more Western liberal elements to adapt dress which could be considered in the Middle East somewhat racier. It is this virtual clash civilizations within this city which he shows. But he also argues that the clash should never exist in the first place. In a sense, this painting almost shouts out this question to me: what ever happened to the Egyptians? It is this very same rhetorical question which thinker Galal Amin used to tackle a parallel topic in a whole series of books. But Kassim believes that his painting addresses individual freedoms rather than just simple social trends and it also introduces the concept of respecting individual rights. In doing so, he says that two opposites can sometimes go together perfectly. There is another element behind Kassim's paintings. Society is caught within the tight grip of consumer culture. Human beings are driven based on needs and when they don't satisfy those needs their whole attitude can turn Machiavellian. Privatization has always been big move for any country, as a matter of fact only two countries successfully privatized after communist rule: the eastern part of Germany and to some extent China. Yet, privatization has also created a new social atmosphere in Egypt and a new social atmosphere means revolutionary social attitudes. The effects of privatization does not require more than the naked eye to see as Cairo's streets have become a collage of brand names. Now, every single aspect of life has become a choice for every single Egyptian. Sharm El-Sheikh has become the great city of neon lights offering the sun, the sand, and the turquoise blue Red Sea. It is during these days when Egyptians are having to become accustomed to having too many choices rather than none. As an Egyptian painter, he has certainly seen many things. Growing up in Qatar, Kassim developed his passion for art when he was young and moved back to Egypt to study at the Fanoun Al Gameela. Already in his late twenties, the young artists has already won up to four awards, one in Dubai and three others here in Egypt. For Kassim, these things are bigger than just simple games because they deal with people's lives. That is, decisions that people have to make everyday. In doing this exhibition, he sets the foundations that many need to freer world, which is the respect the right to choose the way you want live. It's something which could not be more effectively expressed than on a canvas. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/dXVX3 Tags: Ahmed Kassim, Gallery, Painting Section: Art, Egypt
