Egypt's unemployment rate falls in Q2 '25 – CAPMAS    EGP swings vs. USD in early Sunday trade    EGX launches 1st phone app    Egypt achieves record primary budget surplus of EGP 629bn despite sharp fall in Suez Canal revenues    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Resumption of production at El Nasr marks strategic step towards localising automotive industry: El-Shimy    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    United Bank achieves EGP 1.51bn net profit in H1 2025, up 26.9% year-on-year    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    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    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    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.



Ali Abdel Mohsen's apocalyptic vision of wasted opportunities
Published in Daily News Egypt on 15 - 02 - 2012

As we are bombarded every day with horrible news, conspiracy theories, warped viewpoints and bizarre events, it's become difficult to be positive or hopeful. The fact that the general public is quick to complain, impatient with change and generally impossible to please, is starting to take a toll on us.
Perhaps we, as a nation, fail to see how much worse off we can be; how our current state is relatively good in comparison to neighboring countries facing the same challenges. Focusing on only what isn't happening leads to a frustrated and handicapped vicious cycle. Artist Ali Abdel Mohsen puts it simply: "It would be a world of wasted opportunities."
Abdel Mohsen is currently exhibiting his solo show titled "Razor Sharp Teeth" at Mashrabia Gallery, a space known for presenting young talent with original perspectives — and he is no exception.
Morbid illustrations of faceless beings and composite creatures pepper the gallery amid sprawling pieces presenting a range of close-ups and horizons of dense cities. Predominantly in pen, the illustrations are tight images occasionally filled with color or interrupted by dabs of paint. The work is unusual on some many levels: subject matter is uncanny, composition is unorthodox and the support and its presentation is unusual.
The most prominent aspect of the show is the sense of disturbance instantly felt towards the subject matter. Abdel Mohsen is consumed with this post-apocalyptic world where faceless humans roam like zombies, yet without the strength to appear scary or intimidating. These figures are dribbling and pathetic, easily controlled and scared, with remnants of recognizable habits but all mindless, thoughtless and lifeless.
The artist has the ability to create a visual reminiscent of “I Am Legend,” but this world is broken and heartless. To say that he has taken all the negatives we suffer in society today and presented them on overdrive would be an understatement.
Abdel Mohsen adopts an excellent approach to the layering of ideas, with the forefront of the image being the most recognizable, preceded by an underground of networks that present a sinister backdrop to every image. One of the best pieces in the show shows a huge crowd of people gazing silently on what appears to a distorted hand in the middle of a square of sorts.
In the distance, a building like Mohamed Ali or the dome of Cairo University can be seen, and the hand that's squirming on the ground for all to see appears to have come out of nowhere. One is instantly reminded of the broken record come conspiracy theory of "hidden hands" which most governmental officials cite as the source of our troubles, found dying as the country looked on.
The eeriness of the image is compounded by a further layering of the piece: a ruckus of brushstrokes separates that image from a parallel universe where a load of these distorted hands and fingers lie on top of each other. The surreal awkwardness of the image is further aggravated by the heaviness it elicits, and the effect is truly mind-numbing.
Cities lay sprawling and magnificent in the distance, but are terrifyingly morbid when one leans in for a closer look. The level of detail is exhausting, lending to the overall intended effect, but also awe-inspiring in how consumed the artist must have been to create such works. There is something unsettling about the entire exhibition, with tension in every intricate network of lines lying beneath the apparent apathy of the characters and situations portrayed. It feels as though it would all explode any minute, leaving us with an even more lifeless, silent and empty world.
The composition is unexpected and only just works, as it can be easily argued that it is somewhat haphazard. However, that argument can be swayed with the artist's decision to draw in sections, as though each image is cross-sectioned to reveal its insides from the bottom up, hence allowing some room for the viewer to digest the details. One is reminded of Damien Hirst's dissected cows, but here Abdel Mohsen dissects entire cities to reveal their abused core.
The medium used to draw and paint on is cardboard, a degradable material easily torn and tattered. Mortality is heavily quoted in each frayed edge of the pieces, which provides another layer of meaning that reminds us of the fragility of every discarded opportunity.
The pieces hang by black binder clips, a solid decision made by the artist to allow for the frailty of the cardboard to transpire. Framing would provide the pieces with a more mature approach to the subject matter though, rendering them as Nostradamus-like archeological findings that predict the future. Particular pieces such as the series of hieroglyphic inspired icons intricately traced on what appears to be a crude map of Egypt would have greatly benefited from framing, while others are alright as they are.
The show is as morbid as it is interesting, serving as a cautionary tale of what we might become if we keep burrowing ourselves deeper into our problems and repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Abdel Mohsen presents an original take in an original way, and because it's surely something you haven't seen before, "Razor Sharp Teeth" is worth a visit.
"Razor Sharp Teeth" showing at Mashrabia Gallery: 8 Champillion St., Downtown, Cairo. Tel: (02) 2578 4494. Closes on March 8.

Abdel Mohsen adopts an excellent approach to the layering of ideas.


Clic here to read the story from its source.