Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution by basmahamdy

Walls of freedom

is a powerful portrayal of the first three years of the Egyptian revolution that began on January 25, 2011. The story is told through striking images of art that transformed Egypt’s walls into a visual testimony of bravery and resistance. Created in close collaboration with artists on the frontlines of the battle, the book documents how they converted the streets into a dynamic newspaper of the people, providing a muchneeded alternative to the propaganda-fueled media. This comprehensive survey of iconic street art of the Egyptian revolution includes a chronicle of the day-to-day volatile political situation as it rapidly unfolded. Walls of Freedom traces the revolutionary journey, from the early pinnacle of extraordinary hope and inspiration, to its decline into today’s violent Orwellian nightmare. Haunting images of key events captured by acclaimed photographers and activists set the stage for this political drama. Enriched with essays by artists and experts across many fields, Walls of Freedom contextualizes the graffiti in the historical, socio-political, and cultural backgrounds that have shaped this art of the revolution.

BASMA HAMDY is an Egyptian artist, designer, and educator who is dedicated to researching and documenting the street art of the Egyptian revolution. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1998 and completed an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2003. Her research interests include Arabic typography, cultural preservation, and Egyptian pop culture. She has been teaching art and design in the Middle East for ten years.

www.fromheretofame.com

DON KARL aka STONE is a cultural activist, graffiti writer, author, and publisher. He started painting graffiti in 1983 and published his first book on train writing in 1986. Many books and articles have followed. He co-wrote the book Arabic Graffiti and has curated numerous international urban art projects such as Cubabrasil and White Wall Beirut. Since 2011 he has worked closely with Egyptian street artists on events and exhibitions. He currently runs the publishing house From Here To Fame in Berlin.

Table of Contents

2011

Foreword by Ahdaf Soueif The Rebellious Egyptian Personality by Yasmin El Shazly

The Seeds of a Graffiti Revolution by Rana Jarbou

Prelude to a Revolution

The 18 Days of the Revolution

The Day of Revolt

How to Revolt Intelligently

The Friday of Anger

The Battle of the Camels

The Fall of Mubarak

The Utopian State of Tahrir by Caram Kapp

The Rule of SCAF

The Army and the People Were Never One Hand

Martyr Murals

Constitutional Amendments Referendum

The Crescent and the Cross

Mad Graffiti Weekend

Mask of Freedom

May 27, Second Friday of Anger

The Revolutionary Stencil Booklet

The Sad Transition by Sad Panda

The Battle of Abbaseya & Friday of Kandahar

Graffiti, Social Media & the Public Life of Images in the Egyptian Revolution by C. Elias

Maspero’s Black Sunday

Aliaa El-Mahdy vs. Samira Ibrahim

2012

The Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud Street

99 100

The Eye Sniper

102

The Generals Badeen and Seidhom

104

Occupy Cabinet Clashes

112

Spraying NO by Bahia Shehab

117

Mad Graffiti Week

120

Kazeboon

126

Tank vs. Biker

127

First Anniversary of the Revolution

131

The Port Said Massacre

132

The Wall: People’s Chronicle and Voice of the Revolution by Ahmed Aboul Hassan

134

Scarabs, Buraqs and Angels by Basma Hamdy

146

Art and Social Transformation by Basma El Husseiny

154

The Sheikh of the Revolution

156

The Story of General Batran

158

WALLS OF FREEDOM

2013

Free Sambo

158

Mina Daniel

158

No Walls: The Invisible walls of Cairo

160

The Second Battle of Abbaseya

170

Presidential Elections

172

The Muslim Brotherhood Rule

178

SCAF Retreats to the Barracks

180

The Inncocence of Muslims Movie

180

The Mona Lisa Brigades

181

Backwards by El Teneen

182

Congratulations on the new Coat of Paint

184

Quran: The Revolution’s Voice and its Holy Witness by Ahmed Aboul Hassan

190

Operation Pillar of Cloud

194

Pharao Morsi

195

Ittihadiya — A President under Siege

200

Jika

204

Graffiti and Social Matters by NeMo

205

Jack is Out of the Box by Ganzeer

206

Second Anniversary of the Revolution

209

State of Emergency Declared

210

Tamarod Launch

217

Arab Women and Street Art by Aya Tarek

218

Occupy Ministry of Culture

221

The Ruler and Freedom by Abood

224

The Revolution against Morsi

228

The Rise of General Sisi

234

The Coup

235

The Presidential Guard Massacre

236

How Obama grew a Beard

237

The Mandate

238

The Tamarod Movement

239

The Rabaa Massacre

241

Everything was Possible by Omar Hamilton

242

Transliterations of Rabaa by Mikala Hyldig Dal

244

Destruction by Basma Hamdy

246

The Revolution Blender by El Zeft

252

The Anti-Protest Law

255

Epilogue

260

Artist Index

264

Photo Index

266

Credits

268

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1 “Ongoing,”

stencil of a female superhero representing the revolution, created on its first anniversary / El Teneen / Heliopolis / January 2012

foreword BY Ahdaf Soueif The streets mattered. They were where we lived, met, and talked; where we renewed our commitment to our ideas and to each other. In the streets we were at our strongest and our most vulnerable; it was in the streets that many of us were wounded, kidnapped, beaten — that some of us died. But in the streets we were together; each one of us was out there doing everything we could to push the revolution forward, and to reaffirm also — to re-experience — the certainty we carried in our hearts: I am not alone. I am one small part of something amazing, of a massive movement of humanity with a common will towards the good.

And when the street art of the revolution appeared it reconfirmed that certainty a million-fold. For it did what only art can do: art shows you your own feelings, your own thoughts and impulses, articulated, transmuted, given form. And it shows you, in that act of mutual recognition, that you and the collective are one. The streets of the revolution were our world; and the street art of the revolution expressed and celebrated our world. It blossomed on the walls, speaking for us and to us, a miraculous manifestation of the creative energy the revolution had released across the country. It started small: stencils of Khaled Said, killed by Mubarak’s thuggish police in Alexandria in 2010, then the stencil of Mina Daniel, killed by the army in Maspero in October 2011. Then there was the amazing moment when Mina Daniel appeared in freehand, sitting cross-legged at the base of a pillar, with brilliant giant multi-coloured angel wings bursting from his back. Soon he was joined by Sheikh Emad Effat, angel wings rising from his back too, and Quranic verses flowing from his outstretched hand. And across the road from Mina and Emad, black angels in gas masks rose from the pavement to hover on the wall of the American University. The artists who call Egypt home have put themselves in the heart of the revolution. One of our earliest martyrs was Ziyad Bakeer, known for his brilliant set designs for the Opera House. Ganzeer’s graffiti punctuated our vistas. I saw a Sad Panda slouching under a fly-over at the outmost tip of Cairo in Maadi. Mosireen’s footage, appropriated by the youth of the revolution, screened on thousands of walls the length and breadth

of Egypt. Poetry and music marked and accompanied all our actions. Ammar and his friends came up from Luxor and joined the Cairo artists, and when — in an explosion of brutality — the army and police killed fortytwo people and injured more than three thousand on Mohamed Mahmoud Street in November 2011 — it was these artists who answered with their own explosion on the walls of the street: the miraculous giant murals with their mix of Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic, and modern art. The blood of the martyrs had consecrated Mohamed Mahmoud as a place of pilgrimage, the murals made it a pilgrimage of both mourning and celebration, of renewal. Our street art exemplified the difference between the revolution and the system: the system murdered, the revolution immortalised. The system used tear gas and live ammunition, the revolution used stones and drums and fireworks. The system built brutal, obstructive walls partitioning the streets of downtown, the revolution transformed these walls into rainbows, tropical beaches, and playful trompe l’oeil vistas of the streets themselves. In the streets of the revolution we talked a lot about how the people were ahead of the political classes, ahead of academia and the theoriticians. The people were leading the way. But we needed the political scientists, the academics to catch up; the revolution needed them to describe it, to theorize it, to map it. This book is an attempt to do that; part witness, part theory, part commemoration, it is an act within our revolution — our continuing revolution. Cairo, January 2012

Ahdaf Soueif is an Egyptian novelist and political and cultural commentator. She writes regularly for The Guardian in London and has a weekly column for al-Shorouk in Cairo. Her bestselling novel The Map of Love was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. She is also the founder of PalFest, the Palestine Festival of Literature. Soueif is a strong voice in the Egyptian revolution of which she wrote her personal account in Cairo: Memoir of a City Transformed.

The Origins of the Rebellious Egyptian Personality by Yasmin El Shazly Hollywood has always depicted the ancient Egyptians as complacent and submissive, enslaved by the pharaoh and incapable of speaking their minds. Hollywood is not entirely to blame for this image. After all, most of the material that has survived from ancient Egypt comes from royal, religious, or funerary contexts. Such material invaluably enriches our understanding of the ancient Egyptian civilization, yet it provides us with little information on the everyday lives of the ancient Egyptian people. Fortunately, the archaeological record offers us glimpses of private life in ancient Egypt, and, in rare instances, provides us with a window into the mind of an ancient Egyptian person. We can use archaeology, then, to expose the ancient Egyptian’s moments of doubt, fear, and anger, and to reveal a creative, intelligent, and even rebellious personality.

Most of the information we have on everyday life in ancient Egypt comes from the site of Deir el-Medina, which was home to the workmen who built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Contrary to the common belief that the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings were built by slaves who were savagely killed at the completion of their task, so that the secrecy of the tomb locations could be preserved, these tombs were built and decorated by skilled, paid craftsmen. Excavations at Deir el-Medina yield invaluable information on everyday life in ancient Egypt in the form of literary texts, private letters, official documents, and drawings. The drawings were made on ostraca (fragments of limestone or pottery shards used by the workmen as an inexpensive medium on which to make sketches and write). Nothing testifies to the talent of the ancient Egyptian artist as much as the figured ostraca from Deir el-Medina. Many of the drawings on these ostraca do not display the rigid formalism commonly associated with ancient Egyptian art, for in this medium the artist had the opportunity to break the rules that dictated art production at the time, while also expressing his1 talent more freely. One of the most delightful examples of such ostraca is the Naked Woman Playing the Lute found in Deir el-Medina and now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (fig. 2). The ancient Egyptian artist did not only use ostraca to rebel against the rigid rules that dictated the art of the period. He addi-

WALLS OF FREEDOM

tionally used the cynical content of his art to critique the society in which he lived. Satirical ostraca are ostraca that represent scenes from the real world in unrealistic situations. The most famous satirical ostraca are those in which animals and humans are depicted in reversed roles, with animals performing human actions. For instance, a common image is that of a vertically standing cat fanning and serving a seated mouse. This image can be seen as a satirical commentary about ancient Egyptian society, and an attempt to criticize the elite of the time by comparing them to mice, which are served by superior beings, represented as cats. The same role reversals are depicted on what are known as satirical sapyri. On one example, dated to the New Kingdom (19th Dynasty, ca. 1295 – 1186 BC) and excavated at the site of Tune el-Gebel, located in Middle Egypt, cats are depicted serving a mouse, which, on the viewer’s left, is being given a cup by one of its attendants. Behind the mouse is another cat holding what appears to be a fan. Another cat follows the attendant, holding a child mouse, and a third holds a fan. More cats and other types of animals carry water and tend to a bull on the viewer’s right (fig. 1). 2 There is evidence that the satirical ostraca and papyri were inspired by images from ancient Egyptian fables. One such fable is The Mouse as Vizier, excerpts of which can be read below: In the kingdom of the animals there was a wise vizier [a high ranking political advisor]. He was always at the pharaoh’s side, gave him advice, and dealt with the affairs of state in his name. He judged the subjects justly, but with clemency. At the beautiful age of 110 years he lay down and died. His majesty the king began to look among his courtiers whom he could choose as his new vizier. But no one pleased him, and there was nobody whom he could ask for advice. Then he had the idea to pose a riddle. Whoever could solve it would be appointed vizier. He sent his messengers all over the country to proclaim the riddle. Its words were: “What is sweeter than honey and more bitter than bile?” The animals pondered the puzzle, but it was too difficult for them. Already the moon had wandered around the earth once, and no vizier had been found. Just as the moon set for the last time and pharaoh was almost despairing, a tiny mouse came running and whispered into the king’s ear: “The office of vizier.” This was the puzzle’s solution. Pharaoh raised his head, praised the little mouse and appointed him to be his vizier. The mouse was solemnly inducted into its new office. Pharaoh presented him with the gold of honor and received his oath of allegiance as vizier. He read out the virtues of a just vizier. Henceforth the mouse was to sit at the Pharaoh’s right hand … The following day the mouse began performing his official functions, among them sitting in judgment. Immediately, some malefactors were led into the prison. A cat and a dog were dragged off, their front paws

1 Cats

Serving a Lady Mouse, satirical papyrus / Excavated at the site of Tune el-Gebel / 19th Dynasty, ca. 1295 – 1186 BC / Egyptian Museum

2 Naked

Woman Playing the Lute, figured ostracon / Found in 1934 in Deir el-Medina / New Kingdom, ca. 1550 – 1070 BC / Egyptian Museum

in stocks (a framework in which prisoners were publicly confined). A bailiff urged them forward with a cudgel. The cat carried her possessions on her head when she was led into gaol (a British variant of jail). The mouse vizier was severe, but just. But the mouse was given to violent fits of anger. He got excited and there was the danger that in his ire he would exceed the measure of punishment. He was especially touchy when the charge was theft. Thus, one day he had a Nubian child violently beaten by the cat bailiff for having stolen a few dates. The guilty child raised his arms and begged for mercy. But the mouse remained pitiless. The child’s wails did not move him. This came to the knowledge of the pharaoh. He called his vizier, reprimanded him severely and bade him to correct the injustice. What did the mouse do? He ordered the Nubian child to beat the cat just as the cat had beaten the child. As the cat was completely innocent, the child hesitated to punish her. But the mouse demanded obedience, therefore the child beat the poor cat until she cried pitiably. When the pharaoh heard this tale he was angered like a panther from Upper Egypt. He would not suffer a hothead in his realm, one who first punished without much thought and then tried to make amends for one injustice by committing another. He immediately dismissed his vizier ignominiously from office. And this did not satisfy him: He felt such revulsion towards the mouse that he did not want to see him nor any of his kind ever more. Therefore he proclaimed loudly: “From this hour onward, all mice shall disappear from the fields and shall live underground only!” Thus the king spoke and thus it happened. This is the reason why mice live in subterranean holes to this day.3 One can argue that, while the images on the satirical ostraca were clearly derived from fables such as the one quoted above, they may have been drawn on ostraca by Egyptian citizens with dubious intentions, as a way of mocking their superiors, and criticizing the society in which they lived as a whole. This is exactly what the Egyptian graffiti artist Alaa Awad did over 3,000 years later on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, when he copied the image from an ancient Egyptian ostracon from Deir el-Medina dated to the New Kingdom, now housed at the Kestner Museum in Hannover (next page, fig. 1, Alaa Awad’s graffiti of cat and mouse). 1

Evidence from Deir el-Medina suggests that the craftsmen who worked in the construction of the royal tombs were all male 2 The bull in ancient Egyptian art usually represents the king 3 After Brunner-Traut 4 Personal communication 5 For a complete translation of the text see Lichtheim, Vol. I, p. 184 – 192 6 Ba has been loosely translated as “soul;” however, Egyptologists today believe it to be similar to our modern concept of “personality,” or all the non-physical components of a human being that make him / her unique

Alaa Awad states that he painted this graffiti because “it mirrors the reality in which we live … It reflects the way the people perceive their government and their ruler, not only today, but since Pharaonic times. The ancient Egyptians, who carved the temples and tombs of the kings and nobility, only expressed themselves through the ostraca they produced, in which they showed a perception totally different from the one expressed in state art. On one ostracon we see a cat offering food to a mouse, while the mouse sniffs a lotus flower that he holds in his left hand. The cat fans the royal mouse, thus depicting an illogical scene that is totally contrary to nature. This reflects the lack of logic that we see from our government and our ruler; a farce!” 4 The cynicism of the ancient Egyptians and their skillful use of satire can also be seen in a text known as The Satire of the Trades in which a father, preparing his son for schooling, instructs him in the superiority of the scribal profession to all other careers. In doing so he contrasts the scribal career with the hardships of other professions. In the excerpt below he talks about the hardships endured by the weaver: The weaver in the workshop, He is worse off than a woman; With knees against his chest, He cannot breathe air. If he skips a day of weaving, He is beaten fifty strokes; He gives food to the doorkeeper, To let him see the light of day. He later contrasts several other professions with that of the scribe: See, there’s no profession without a boss, Except for the scribe; he is the boss. Hence if you know writing, It will do better for you Than those professions I’ve set before you, Each more wretched than the other.5 The ancient Egyptians have also traditionally been perceived as a morbid people who were in love with death and who spent their entire lives preparing for death and life in the Hereafter. In actuality, the ancient Egyptians were so infatuated with life that they wanted their life after death to be a mirror image of life upon earth. In the literature they left behind, we can even see glimpses of cynicism towards the idea of life after death. In a text known as The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba 6 a man who is tired of life and wants to commit suicide has a debate with his ba. One section says:

January 2011

The Day of Revolt 25 January 2011: Purposely chosen, Egypt’s 4

3 pm: “Blood rushes through my body as the protesters grow in number till I am no longer able to see the beginning or end of our march. I recall the chants, all of them, and the look on the faces of the resi dents looking out from their windows in utter shock and disbelief. The protest everyone thought would only amount to a couple of hundred was growing by the thousands.” Sondos Shabayek

1 Riot

police line up awaiting orders as Egyptians protest in Tahrir Square / Mohamed Mahmoud Street

2 Riot

police move through Tahrir Square, surrounded by protesters

Riot police line up, securing all roads leading to Tahrir Square / Taalat Harb Street

A riot policeman runs towards clashes with protesters / Tahrir Square

5 A

man uses his bag as a shield against stones and rubber bullets as protesters clash with riot police / Kasr El-Aini Street

National Police Day marks the start of the revolution against the government of President Hosni Mubarak. About 17 political parties and opposition groups join the call for protests initiated by the “We are all Khaled Said” Facebook page and the April 6 Youth Movement. Even the previously dismissive Muslim Brotherhood now voices support, but falls short of formally calling its members to participate. Social networks anticipate large numbers of protesters, and many hope that the Tunisian spark will jump over to Egypt. The actual turnout is unprecedented and exceeds all expectations. At least 50,000 protesters from all walks of life demonstrate in Cairo. Tens of thousands more take to the streets in other cities. First clashes break out when police and Central Security Forces (CSF) — who are in full force in the streets — attack non-violent protesters. Civilian and police casualties are reported. The government blocks Twitter, and Anonymous takes down several government websites including the Ministry of Interior (MOI). In its first statement the MOI falsely accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of being behind the protests. In Cairo, Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) becomes the center of protest, and preparations start for an open-ended sit-in as the first tents are erected at night.

25 January

2011

The 18 Days of the revolution

“That moment when someone carries me on his shoulders to help me write my proud bomb ‘Down with Hosni Mubarak’… and we turn back to the protesters, and I swear I see every single eye staring at me. And so I shout ‘Down, down with Mubarak’ and everyone repeats after me.” Hany Khaled

WALLS OF FREEDOM

28 January

2011

The 18 Days of the revolution

WALLS OF FREEDOM

The Friday of Anger 28 January 2011: Attempting to thwart the

anticipated protests, the government shuts down access to the Internet after midnight and disrupts mobile phone services. Following Friday prayers, hundreds of thousands throughout Egypt gather around noon. The police and CSF violently clamp down with tear gas, rubber bullets, shotguns, and live ammunition, but are overpowered by the masses in countless battles throughout the country. As police are forced to withdraw from the streets, military tanks move into Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria in the late afternoon. Although many greet the army with jubilation, its stance is still unclear as it takes over various strategic positions, first securing the state TV building. State-run Nile TV reports that Mubarak has charged the army with restoring order and announces an immediate curfew, but protesters largely defy it. Countless police and government buildings are burned down throughout Egypt, including the iconic headquarters of the National Democratic Party. Hundreds are killed and injured. In the late night Mubarak appears on television for the first time since the start of the revolt. He dismisses his government

January 2011

ministers and announces the formation of a new Cabinet for tomorrow. He describes the protests as a plot to destabilize Egypt: “What happened in the last few days put fear in everybody’s hearts,” he says, cementing his detachment from the Egyptian people, who have in reality lost their fear of his regime. Army tanks and armored vehicles enter Tahrir Square. In a first confrontation with the military, revolutionaries overtake and set fire to army vehicles that are seen delivering ammunition to the embattled police. 1 The

Battle of Kasr El-Nil Bridge lasts for hours until the people repel the police, and it becomes a symbol for the Friday of Anger

2 The

police attack protesters trying to bserve noon prayers on Kasr El-Nil Bridge o with water cannons

3 “Leave,”

with stencil of Mubarak and “Down with the Regime” with stencil of upside down coat of arms on a police booth / El Teneen

4 Protesters

wave the Egyptian flag, posing in front of a police vehicle that is sprayed with: “Down with Mubarak” and “The end”/ 29 January 2011

30 January

2011

The 18 Days of the revolution

30 January 2011: Chaos engulfs the country. Egyptian Air Force jets scream over Tahrir Square, trying to intimidate the sit-in. Al Jazeera continues live coverage of the protests despite government efforts to shut down the popular Qatari TV station. The Internet is still down, but bloggers circumvent the blockade and get reports, photos, and videos online. Thousands of inmates have fled prisons across Egypt, including common criminals, convicted terrorists, the policemen that killed Khaled Said, and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood like Mohamed Morsi. Police forces are now gone from all major cities. Looting and arson continue. Neighborhood watches armed with firearms, sticks, and clubs establish checkpoints and barricades to ward off looting gangs that roam the cities.

1 “Down

with Mubarak’s rule,” “You thief,” “Salute to the golden General Abdel Moneim Riad, 9 March 1969,” sprayed on Abdel Moneim Riad’s monument / Abdel Moneim Riad Square

Graffiti in Tahrir Square

Protester writing graffiti against the US administration on a wall in Tahrir Square

“No to corruption”

5 “No

to Mubarak,” “Down with Mubarak,” “Peaceful, no to vandalism”

6 “A

people’s trial for the traitors,” “No to corruption,” “Down with the traitors Mubarak and Suleiman,” “That’s a losing strategy, you traitor”

7 “Antique

Dictator 4 Sale” on the wall of a government building / Tahrir Square

8 “Leave”/ Stencil

of Mubarak / El Teneen /

Tahrir Square

WALLS OF FREEDOM

January 2011

3 4

7 8

February 2011

The 18 Days of the revolution

4 5

WALLS OF FREEDOM

February 2011

The Battle of the CamelS 2 February 2011: Violence escalates. Scores of

Mubarak supporters — some on camels and horses — storm in and use whips, clubs, stones, knives, and swords to attack protesters in Tahrir Square. The army opens a passageway for the apparently government-orchestrated attack. Hundreds are injured and at least 11 killed. Field hospitals erected in Tahrir Square care for the wounded. Live coverage from the square is cut and journalists are attacked and arrested. The military tries to curb violence by separating anti-Mubarak from pro-Mubarak groups. The supporters of the regime are interspersed with plainclothes police. President Mubarak reiterates his refusal to step down in interviews with news agencies. The Battle of the Camels becomes a controversy. International media relish the “photogenic” orientalist nature of the battle, but many revolutionaries consider this to be an intentional diversion to shift focus away from the real course of events of the revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood exploits the event. Latecomers to the revolution, they highlight their presence at the front lines of the battle and overemphasize its importance in order to claim ownership of the revolution. After the initial attack, heavy clashes with stones and Molotov cocktails rage on into the night.

1 Pro-Mubarak

thugs yielding sticks and riding camels and horses attack protesters / Tahrir Square

2 “Down

with the tyrant” scrawled on a closed shop after it has been whitewashed by Mubarak supporters

3 Mubarak

supporter whitewashing graffiti in Tahrir Square that said: “Revolution, revolution until victory”

“Facebook”

“Game over, Mubarak and Gamal”

6 “Leave”/ Stencil

of Mubarak, “The people want to overthrow the regime” remembrance of Egypt’s Youth Revolution 28 January 2011 (The Friday of Martyrs): The day the youth of Egypt brought down the tyrant. Signed: the youth of the Kefaya (Enough) Movement,” “Statement No. 1 of the Freedom revolution: 28 January 2011. This square has witnessed a huge number of young people revolting for the sake of their country and their martyrs; it was soaked with the blood of the freedom martyrs. And so the tyrant and his aids have fallen at the hands of the youth of the free Egypt on the Friday of Anger,” “News flash: Mubarak turns out to be a donkey, with our deepest regrets for donkeys”/ Handwriting on Taalat Harb Statue / Taalat Harb Square

7 “In

2 February 2011 “I’m crying on the phone while describing the scene of injured people to a friend who was against it all and wanted the protesters to ‘go home.’ Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to face a man with a smile I shall never forget. He was bleeding all over. He thought I was crying out of fear and said ‘Don’t worry, no one will harm you. We will protect you, no one’s going to leave the square.’ I wanted to get down on my knees and kiss his hands and feet.” Sondos Shabayek

11 February

2011

The 18 Days of the revolution

WALLS OF FREEDOM

February 2011

The 18 Days of the revolution 1

The Utopian State of Tahrir

“ We are the Tahrir people”/ Part of a stencil by El Zeft (see original p. 111)

Tahrir had the carnivalesque atmosphere of a people who were in revolt and enjoying it. There was freedom of speech and assembly, camaraderie, and food. After thirty years of leaving the rest of Egypt outside as soon as they entered their flats, people came together in this place to celebrate values and rights they barely even remembered under Mubarak’s dictatorship. They convened in this square, which seems to have been waiting for this uprising. Khedive Isma’il Pasha, considered the founder of modern Egypt, wanted to build a Paris on the Nile. He succeeded in that the Egyptian revolution of 2011 is taking place in his version of Paris, about 130 years after the pasha was removed from power.

by Caram Kapp Love is a big word to use in any context, yet the mass upri-

sing in Egypt and the occupation of Tahrir — together with what these events inspired globally — deserve that term. Maybe part of the continuing fascination with Tahrir, and the effects that emanate from it, is that so many people found their courage and their purpose in this square, no matter where they were at that time. Within 18 days, a parallel universe was set up on the Midan, the “Free Republic of Tahrir.” All of Egyptian society was assembled here, or so people would say later. “Beto3 el Tahrir” 1 (the ones of Tahrir): the youth and the wisdom that occupied that square during the 18 days will be remembered. “If Tahrir is a microcosm of modern-day Egypt with all of its issues, and it managed to get there in a week, then being there for the next few days is crucial to understand what might happen in the next few years and how to prevent it,” Mahmoud Salem aka Sandmonkey2 says. A ‘torshi’ (pickle) vendor uses his pickled cucumbers to spell out “Al-Sha3b Yurid Esqat al-Netham” (The people want the fall of the regime). Somewhere, a doctor is acting out a comedy as an Indian who compares the political class in Egypt to India’s own. People engage in open discussion about religion and politics “Ya sayedi el fadel …” (My good sir …), listening to each other’s opinions. Electricity is stolen from light poles or donated by neighboring businesses, and now powers the quickly set up media center. “We arrived there and began the sit-in,” explains Ahmad El Turki, “with no real agenda, just chants. At some moment, having survived the first assaults by the police, we realized that we could make demands of the government. We all scratched our heads and looked at each other for a minute then started writing them in huge letters, and hung them on a nearby building.” This became the large banner with the people’s demands that could be seen on television screens around the world.

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“We realized we wanted our basic rights. And we were willing to go as far as it took to attain them. We understood, at that moment, that we had to stand together. All this nonsense about Muslim Brothers, Coptic Christians, Women … all that was fabricated later. We stood together and it was beautiful. We were unstoppable,” artist Ammar Abo Bakr says. And then the army came. It was received with suspicion and fear, but also with cheers and the chant “The people and the army are one hand.” Ammar continues, “People knew what they were doing when they were singing that … they didn’t all do that because they believed that the army was on their side. It was a warning to the army and to the people at the same time. You don’t really think they were sleeping underneath those tanks for shelter?” In retrospect, some of the most remarkable stories are stories that didn’t need to be told, because they didn’t happen. “During the revolution, though, a miraculous transformation occurred. Men were more considerate, and we could participate freely without being hassled. I could just walk around the square, even after midnight, without any problems,” recalls Noha Tarek, a university student. “Even the Islamists said nothing. No one told us it was wrong to be in public at night with men.” 3 The liberal women of Egypt did not fall out with their veiled compatriots; women were not harassed. Despite rumors spread by state-run media of rape, drugs, prostitution, and orgies on Tahrir, the women tell of a great sense of security, felt on Tahrir during those 18 days. This was something they had never felt before and did not feel afterwards. “Tahrir Square is the safest place in Egypt right now. All these young men are defending it. There is unprecedented cooperation. There is a very organized division of labor. We are proud to be living here in Tahrir Square. We recommend coming here and living this unique experience,” asserted a female protester camped on Tahrir during the 18 days. 4 In a country where women are confronted with daily harassment and abuse, this seems impossible — an idealized, romantic fairytale. But it was true and has become an undisputed fact.

February 2011 “Patriotic songs are all over the place, old songs of Halim (Abdel Halim Hafez) and Sheikh Emam were heard all over the place. Political activist and singer Azza Balba’a sang Sheikh Emam’s songs for groups of non-socialist youth who repeated after her the words,” posts blogger Zeinoba on the Internet. 5 Tahrir was full of new songs and the rediscovery of musical resistance. Singers and artists from all over the country gave lyrical support to the protesters and helped them formulate their chants and slogans into songs. Over the course of the 18 days, 16 stages were built on Tahrir. Not all of them were constructed specifically for performances, but none of them escaped being used for them at one time or another. A powerful symbol that took many shapes on Tahrir was a cross and a crescent, united. This image harks back to the 1919 revolutionary flag and serves as a reminder that, in spite of their various beliefs, Egyptians are a united people. Taking into account that just before the events of January 25 a bomb had killed 23 people in a Coptic church in Alexandria after New Year’s prayers, it was telling that Egyptians forgot long-standing religious differences and focused on being proudly Egyptian together. Religion had a visible presence on the square: the revolution, although secular, did not hinder devotion but rather embraced it. On Friday, when the Muslims of the square prayed, the Christians sharing the square with them — knowing that this was a vulnerable moment — expressed their solidarity and understanding by joining hands to form a cordon of humanity in order to protect their praying comrades.

together those who staged the sit-in. It was faith in their compatriots around the world that a better Egypt was possible. It allowed these protesters to hold out, despite the violence and intimidation of Mubarak’s falling regime. Sarah Carr explains, “The sense of optimism and joy in the demonstration is almost crushing it’s so intense. Like being informed that you have just been promoted, or that you are expecting a child, or that Tamer Hosny has lost the ability to speak, all while at your best friend’s wedding.” 7 It was neither Woodstock nor Gandhi’s passive resistance nor the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was the need to prove to each other that Egypt could continue without the oppression of the last thirty years. It was the desire to be a country in which men and women — egardless of age, religion, or position in society — could live together and inspire each other. It was a way for Egyptians to publicly assert their love for one another and assert their basic equality. It was a celebration of fears overcome, infused with a new flavor of joy. In the first 18 days of uprising, anything seemed thinkable: a new Egypt, directed not by the body of a regime, but by the individual will and responsibility of the Egyptian people; a society in which men and women were equal by common sense and not by law; education and basic knowledge for all; a people working together independently to achieve the greater good. As Mahmoud Salem puts it, “In essence, Tahrir was very quickly becoming a miniature-size Egypt, with all of its problems, but without a centralized government. And the parallels are uncanny. […] I was facing a unique opportunity here, one that very few people get: the opportunity to create a new nation, alongside everyone else, from scratch.” 8

Around the camp, violence reigned. Snipers and thugs mounted on camel’s backs attacked the square. There were constant hidden arrests by the army and secret police. Demonstrators were beaten and pelted with stones. Battles raged for days and nights on end. Field hospitals were built to help those injured in combat. “The atmosphere in Tahrir Square is such that when you’re there you think that Mubarak has no choice but to resign at some point in the next ten minutes. Then you go outside the square’s perimeter and feel Egypt will be lumbered with him, or a version of him, forever,” says the journalist Sarah Carr. 6 Tahrir has become far more than just a square. It is an ideological territory, a symbol of progress and freedom that has to be protected and defended from the surrounding decay and corruption. For 18 days, the revolution was televised, and the world was grateful for it. The Egyptian revolution became the world’s first real Truman Show. Tahrir has been called many things since the initial January uprising in which hundreds of thousands of people occupied a large, dirty square that also is one of the main thoroughfares of traffic in Cairo. It has always been called Liberation Square. It is now associated with personal and social liberation worldwide, and it inspires movements such as Occupy, the Indignados in Spain, and refugee occupations of public spaces in Germany and Austria. Tahrir Square, during these 18 days of utopia, was an act of patriotic love. It was love for Egypt and Egyptians’ desire for change in their country that brought

Caram Kapp is a cultural producer, graphic designer, and cultural activist based mainly in Berlin and Cairo. He is cofounder of the Achtung Berlin! film festival, the Spring Lessons initiative, and Mad Graffiti Week Berlin. He has organized numerous cultural events related to the Middle East in Europe and the MENA region, with a focus on collaborative methods and intercultural approaches. His body of work deals with cultural convergence and divergence in the digital and physical realm; the role of arts and culture in times of change and transformation; synchronic media narratives; and intercultural collaboration. 1

Contains Arabizi, an Arabic chat alphabet used in online chats and text messaging when the Arabic alphabet is unavailable or difficult to use. 2 Mahmoud Salem / Sandmonkey; sandmonkey.org; Tahrir: an Exercise in Nation Building; 16 July 2011 3 Noha Tarek; Peacepolicy.edu; Women & Revolution: Notes from Tahrir Square; 6 July 2011 4 Hani Eskander; Vimeo; A Week of Resiliance; 15 February 2011 5 Zeinab Mohammed / Zeinoba; egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com; #Jan25: The Departure Friday; 4 February 2011 6 Sarah Carr; inanities.org; Small Change; 5 February 2011 7 Ibid. 8 Mahmoud Salem / Sandmonkey; sandmonkey.org; Tahrir: an Exercise in Nation Building; 16 July 2011

February 2011

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February 2011

December 2011

Friday of the Martyrs 2 December 2011: Thousands protest on Tahrir

Square and pray for those killed in the Battle of Mohamed Mahmoud Street. At nightfall, scores of protesters break the new taboo of entering the closed-off street. They carry symbolic coffins of the martyrs and place them in front of the concrete wall erected by the army. 4 December 2011: Results of the first of three

rounds of parliamentary elections are clearly in favor of Islamist parties. The MB’s Freedom and Justice Party takes 37% of the vote while the Salafist Al-Nour party takes 24%. 7 December 2011: Kamal El-Ganzouri’s new

cabinet is sworn into office. Former police chief of Giza, Mohammed Ibrahim Yusuf, becomes Minister of Interior.

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13 December 2011 10 pm: “I am in front of my home in Shoubra, just coming back from the Cabinet sit-in. A man asks for the way to a closeby mosque. I go with him. Two other guys appear; they hit me on the head with a stick and take me to a gray car. Secret police — we drive for 45 minutes to a sandy place.” 11 pm: “They destroy the SIM card of my phone, tie me up with a rope, and put me in a room with a big spotlight. They ask about who organizes the protests and some friends. And they beat me with a fucking American stick. I get hurt on the head. They torture me with electric shocks. They keep me inside the room for three hours. And then they take me again and throw me out in the desert.” Abdo El Amir 1 Mural

of protesters who lost their eyes in the November 2011 clashes / Ammar Abo Bakr / Mohamed Mahmoud Street

2 Sketches

for mural of protesters who lost their eyes / Artist’s sketch / Ammar Abo Bakr

3 “Freedom

14 December 2011: The second round of voting

in parliamentary elections begins. At the Occupy Cabinet sit-in, now in its third week, 40 protesters suffer mass food poisoning after an unknown woman distributes Hawawshy sandwiches (traditional Egyptian meat sandwiches). Suspicions of foul play and a deliberate attack on the protesters circulate.

is coming for sure,” “Light a firework to illuminate the night, spreading freedom, bringing down a regime.” Painted on the barrier wall erected by the army barricading Mohamed Mahmoud Street; Ammar Abo Bakr’s “wanted” stencil is also sprayed on the wall

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DOKUMENTE EINER FREMDEN WELT

December November2011 2011

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man’s head is filled with political and social personalities representing the overwhelming pressure Egyptians are under / Paste-up / Sad Panda / Zamalek

2 “Get

angry” addressed to women / Paste-up / Chab / Zamalek

3 Revolutionary

angels in gas masks / Paint & airbrush / Ammar Abo Bakr and friends / Luxor

4 “Not

with tear gas ¶ He does not suffer from thirst or hunger ¶ Like the youngest child in the fighting nation ¶ Should we silence him or should we try? ¶ No, we should try…”/ Poem by Abdel Rahman El-Abanoudy, a popular Egyptian poet / Ammar Abo Bakr / Luxor

5 “Special

congratulations from Egypt’s revolutionaries to the police forces on the occasion of the January 25 Revolution ???” an ironic statement commenting on the announcement by SCAF to change the occasion of January 25 from Police Day to Revolution Day / Ammar Abo Bakr / Luxor

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January 2012

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The Sheikh of the Revolution Sheikh Emad Effat was killed during the Occupy Cabinet clashes on

December 16, 2011 (see p. 112). As a senior cleric at Al-Azhar Mosque, he was already considered a revolutionary symbol even before his death. He was a teacher who inspired many people. His death had a huge impact on the Egyptian streets. At the start of his career, he followed the conservative Salafi teachings, but soon changed

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his approach and favored a moderate, non-literal Islam. He was known as the Revolution’s Sheikh because he had always opposed Mubarak’s dictatorship. He fought injustice and even confronted Al-Azahr and Dar al-Iftaa’s (House of Fatwas) support of the regime. His great knowledge of Islam coupled with his tolerance made him a symbol of moderate Islam. Sheikh Emad attended nearly every protest since the start of the revolution. He never wore his turban

March 2012 1 March 2012: The travel ban is lifted and

foreign NGO workers are allowed to leave Egypt, ending the diplomatic spat between Washington and Cairo. 1 “They

will not fight you [even] together except in fortified townships or from behind walls. Strong is their fighting [spirit] amongst themselves: you would think they were united, but their hearts are divided: that is because they are a people devoid of wisdom” Quran, Surat Al-Hashr 59:14 / Ammar Abo Bakr, concept by Ahmed Aboul Hassan / Mansour Street, Downtown / 11 February 2012

2 “[And

they would say:] Our Lord! We obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, but they led us astray. Our Lord! Give them double the punishment and send upon them a mighty curse!” Quran, Surat Al-Ahzab 33:67 – 68 / Depiction of Sheikh Emad Effat, the “Sheikh of the Revolution” killed by the military police on December 2011 / Ammar Abo Bakr concept by Ahmed Aboul Hassan / Mohamed Mahmoud Street / 27 February 2012

and kaftan, because he wanted be there as an Egyptian citizen and not represent an institution like Al-Azahr. He was a humble man known to shy away from the spotlight. Some people have even seen him quietly cleaning the streets of Tahrir Square. Following his death, he became an icon: his photos were circulated over social networks and carried in protests, and his likeness was painted as graffiti. According to journalist Rana Khazbak, his friends remember him saying, “I can smell the scent of paradise from a distance in Tahrir Square.”

8 March 2012: On International Women’s Day, hundreds of women march from the Journalist Syndicate to the Parliament. They protest against SCAF, military trials for civilians, and “virginity tests.” The women demand that the Constituent Assembly be made up of 50% women.

Presidential Candidacy Registration 10 March 2012: The registration period for

presidential candidacy begins for what is already dubbed “Egypt’s first free and fair election.” Candidates can apply until April 8. With the poor performance of revolutionary forces in the parliamentary elections, it looks as if the presidential election will be fought between former Mubarak regime figures (feloul) and Islamists. Some candidates already in the race include the general’s best friend, former Mubarak prime minister and Minister of Aviation; a former commander of the Egyptian air force, Ahmed Shafik; and Amr Moussa, former secretary general of the Arab League and ex foreign minister under Mubarak, who is trying hard to escape his image as a “feloul.” On the other side is Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, former highranking Muslim Brotherhood leader, who was expelled from the MB for going against the group’s promise not to field a candidate. His critique of SCAF and his moderate views also make him acceptable to many liberals and seculars. Also regarded as a strong candidate is the kooky Salafi leader, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail. The Muslim Brotherhood says it will not support any candidate before the nomination period is over. 11 March 2012: Ahmed Adel El Mogy, the

doctor conducting SCAF’s “virginity tests,” is acquitted by a military court. The case was brought against him by Samira Ibrahim, a victim of the procedure while in detention. Human rights groups claim the practice is being used as punishment against female protesters. The United Arab Emirates demands an explanation from Egypt over the support by the Muslim Brotherhood for criticism of the government by a prominent UAE cleric. The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also condemns the MB statements against the UAE. The UAE has a long history of animosity with the Muslim Brotherhood. 15 March 2012: Thousands of Ultras Ahlawy

march from Ahly club in Zamalek to the high court downtown. They are joined by the Ultras White Knights, their staunch rivals from Cairo’s club Zamalek, in demanding justice for the victims of the Port Said Massacre. The public prosecutor announces the arrests of 75 suspects in relation to the disaster.

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May 2013

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Arab Women and Street Art

Androgyny / Aya Tarek / City Leaks Festival / Cologne, Germany / October 2013

by Aya Tarek* A few weeks ago, I receive a call asking me for an interview for a

documentary film about street art in Egypt. Naturally, I ask the director what aspects she is planning to tackle in her film. She replies, “Graffiti and the Egyptian Revolution in Cairo.” I try to explain to her that my work is not at all political and that I do not work in Cairo but in Alexandria, my hometown. “It’s no problem,” she says. “We’re looking for any female street artist in Egypt, and you’re one of the only ones we found.” This woman, like many other journalists and filmmakers who have recently been contacting me, has barely seen any of my work, and she does not seem inclined to. Just as long as I am an Arab Woman and a Street Artist, that is all that matters. When I began my career back in 2008, street art was a distant dream, a ridiculed art form in Egypt. I had inherited my grandfather’s studio in downtown Alexandria, where I worked with my crew. My grandfather was a graphic designer from the 1960s to the 1990s, and he specialized in cinema poster making. He left behind a run-down modern 1960’s studio space, located at the foot of a neoclassical building near the wood and paper markets in downtown Alexandria. The mid-century aesthetics, along with the modernist design and printing appliances that he left us to experiment with, are what initially influenced my artistic style. The studio, which officially became known as Art Establishment, was where our ideas and techniques were born, and the streets of Alexandria became our very own open gallery. Working in public space had its own charm (although at times it could be quite challenging). Especially in areas where public art was not recognized, it took us time and effort to get the community to acknowledge the value of what we were doing to their precious walls. The question of being a woman working on the street was at the time quite irrelevant; for us, gender was not an issue. We did not feel compelled to address the question of the oppression of women in Egypt, for to us and to the passersby, it was about aesthetics. It was about the value of the work: it was about art. Nowadays, female artists constantly go through the trouble of trying to detach themselves from labels stuck upon them due to their gender. Similarly, 20th-century Egyptian (male and female) artists have also been the victims of critics’ pigeonholing due to their nationality. The label itself is not important, but it is rather the inevitable alienation of the artist once he or she becomes an “object of study” that destroys the work. This becomes most apparent when the work itself is critiqued differently — when it is evaluated as “women’s” art, or “Egyptian” art rather than simply as art — and when the conceptualization of the work stems from the initial boxing of the artist. In 2009, director Ahmed Abdalla invited me to take part in his film Microphone. By that time I had worked on several murals around the streets of Alexandria. The film aimed to shed light on the Alexandrian cultural scene by featuring skateboarders (another growing scene in Egypt that was also born in Alexandria), musicians, and street artists within a dramatic plotline. For the film I created a number of murals. I felt a responsibility to accurately exhibit the street art scene in Alexandria. I developed techniques especially for the film and challenged myself to create original representative pieces. The film was produced at the end of 2010 and was to premiere on January 25, 2011.

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January 25, 2011: an unforgettable date. The beginning of the 18 days of protests that ended with the toppling of Hosni Mubarak and the rise of the graffiti trend in Egypt. It was a prosperous time for local and foreign media in the region. Today, two years later, the trending news topics oscillate between the oppression of women and the rise of street art in Egypt, notably Cairo. To fuse the two together would be a double win for the media. Local and foreign journalists have been thriving on questions of gender, ranging from the rights of Arab women in the region, to sexual assault, to women’s mediocre achievements in the arts. Being a Woman Street Artist in this particular time and place means being put in the spotlight, being constantly bombarded with questions. The media focus on Arab Women and Street Art is both tricky and problematic. It plays on the widely known fact that many Arab countries have a patriarchal society. “Arab Women and Street Art” also suggests a very simplistic perspective on a much more complex subject, for it assumes that all Arab women have something in common: not just that they are women but that they are Arab women, and not just that they are Arab women but that they are Arab Women Street Artists. The phrase implies that all Arab Women Street Artists are similar. More important, it implies that their art is all the same, and that the rarity of their existence makes them a subject worth tackling. In my situation, when I began working as a street artist it was not a male-dominated scene. In fact, there was practically no scene at all in Egypt. It was only after the 2011 uprisings that the graffiti scene began to boom, and quickly became viewed as a male-dominated art form. The assumption that public space in Egypt is a man’s place is widespread and understandable, especially with the growing focus on — and politicization of — sexual harassment. The domination of men in the street, with their constant need to reassert their masculinity, alienates women from the public sphere and places them on a vulnerable pedestal. This is the problematic and troubling result of a male weakness, yet it is women who suffer the consequences. This reality does not imply that all Arab Women Street Artists derive their inspiration from their gender, nor does it assume that Arab Women Artists cannot be critiqued just as their male counterparts are. In my case, it has always been about the work, about aesthetics, about creating beauty within chaos. *Co-written by Sama Waly

Aya Tarek (born 1989) is a painter, street artist, and co-founder of Kanschaft, who lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. Her art explores the notion of urban communication. Aside from her conceptual approach, her vibrant, comical work transmits a sense of simplicity and controversy. Through her sitespecific murals, she investigates ideas about the surrounding public spaces. Tarek has participated in various exhibitions and events in Alexandria, Cairo, Sharjah, Manama, Beirut, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Florence. facebook.com/beautyqueenofazarita | twitter.com/queenofazarita

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The Ruler and Freedom by Abood The concept of the mural is mainly about the eternal struggle between two fighting sides. On the one hand, there is the revolution, represented by the little girl sending off ten freedom doves. The light shining brightly behind her indicates that the freedom sun has risen. On the other hand, we have the Ruler, as seen in the middle section of the graffiti. The Ruler could be any man; that is why his head is not painted. The person can change but the mentality of the regime remains the same: the mentality of tyranny and oppression. His hands are stained with the blood of those whom he has killed. However, the Ruler is duplicitous and makes the symbol of freedom with his hands. Unlike the red, orange, and yellow sun behind the little girl, the sun that shines behind the Ruler is gray and black.

The little girl has soldiers (represented by white chess pawns) fighting the Ruler. On her other side, a wolf with a dark bleak background pines to kill her. Facing the sun and the doves, symbols of liberation, are the moon and the bats, symbolizing the darkness. Opposing the white pawns are black ones, representing the regime’s soldiers. The mentality of the oppressor is further represented by the soldiers below the Ruler. They are clustered together in the middle, as if something is hidden under them. They look down, as if they are killing invisible targets. To the left, you can see the General, who embodies the mentality of the security forces. The mural has a gun in place of the head, indicating that this is a being that knows only execution and murder. Next to him, his loyal servant, the dog, also has a gun in

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place of his head, for he is the General’s loyal accomplice. The dog is the symbol of the security forces’ loyalists, all of whom condone violence over emancipation. To the right, you can see the Officer. The Ruler uses him to oppress freedom — here symbolized by the doves. Each dove holds inside of it a flying red revolutionary martyr. The revolutionary cares not about the risks and consequences of his actions: the martyr-doves continue to fly bravely until they end up under the Officer’s bat. The Officer beats and kills them. They then morph into one single white dove fallen under the Officer’s feet, a bullet in its chest. In an endless process, the little girl spreads freedom through the rebels; she continues to spread ideas in the face of the mass murder of one dove after the other by the oppressive regime. This scene represents the rebels, who bury their martyrs and still persevere in their struggle. The doves continue the fight, fully aware that they will end up like the others, a sacrifice to the cause of the revolution. Finally, the artist employs an electric panel door as the backside of an armored tank. The lower part is divided in separate sections, which represent the rest of the sterile regime we live in. In the first section, the bull represents capitalism and the state, surrounded by guardians and protectors. The second part, next to the tank, shows two people carrying each other, and on top of it the following sentence: “If we can’t live free, [the earth’s] insides [are] a better place for us.” It is important to note that artist Alaa Awad previously painted both

June 2013

page: Ruler and Freedom Mural / Abood (see text) / Right page, from top left: Man shouting: “Downfall not reform”; Above, angry bearded MB: “We will apply legitimacy even if we transgress it”; a poor citizen stands beside portraits of Khairat El-Shater and Mohamed Morsi. Morsi opens his shirt revealing the MB logo on which is written: “If he speaks he lies,” part of a saying by the Prophet Mohamed explaining the qualities of a hypocrite. Below from left: Purple and red text on yellow (addressing MB): “Won’t you grow up, you are liars.” Around the letters are Muslim Brothers with speech bubbles: “You Christians”; “You infidels”; “This graffiti is a sin”; “I- i- it’s all a sin.” A sheep below says: “By the way, I am not MB”; The tortoise says: “I am the Nahda Project” (the Islamist project of the MB government). The dog tells another: “Here is the fankoosh” (a reference from an Egyptian movie representing a fake commodity). A boy asks the Islamist holding a bird: “How much would you sell that sheep for?” He answers: “That’s not a sheep, it’s the Nahda bird.” Boy says: “Yeah I am talking to the bird” (implying that the Islamist is the sheep). Bottom right red text: “Liar of the [Nahda] project, the citizen is fooled”/ Abood with Andeel and Naguib / April – August 2013 / Sheikh Rihan Street

1 Left

the bull and the sentence on the wall. I employed and integrated them into my mural, as it is a quintessential element of street art to work with the “history” of the wall. In the third section, you can see a priest carrying a rosary with the signs of the three monotheist religions: the cross for Christianity, the crescent for Islam, and the Star of David for Judaism. The priest is surrounded by a hyena and a Pharaonic man, both elements from an older mural by Alaa Awad. Next to the priest is the word “Behave,” meaning, “Behave and do not mix religion with politics.” Finally, there’s a little electric box where you can see a cranky man carrying a sign that says, “to hell with it” (“toz”). This indicates that in spite of everything happening, there are still apathetic people who couldn’t care less, who only care about themselves and their daily lives. Abood is a 32-year-old artist who graduated in education technology. Draw ing was an early talent and as a student he collaborated on small projects with friends from the faculty of fine arts. His real launch came as he took to the streets during the first 18 days of Egyptian revolution at Tahrir Square in 2011. He began spraying stencils, using this visual media to communicate ideas to a large number of people. As an artist, he soon chose a political direction, realizing the potential to raise awareness across a wide audience through a variety of formats. facebook.com/Abood.StreetArt

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tHE pOWER OF dESTRUCTION by basma hamdy

opponents in a form of “political vandalism” during the great purges of the 1930s.1 What is so threatening about images, I asked myself, which causes influential leaders to go to such extremes to eliminate them?

“For me, an image is the sum of its destructions.” Pablo Picasso, 1954 I wondered about the man who was ordered to look through the reels of Egyptian

movies filmed during the rule of King Farouk and to remove his portrait from the scenes. It would have required great effort to etch out the image of the overthrown king frame by frame, each time leaving a scratchy black ghost in its place. Nasser loyalists sought to erase Farouk from Egypt’s history following the abolishment of the monarchy in 1953, just as Stalin erased his own political

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In 1353 BC, immediately following the death of his father, Akhenaten ordered all references to the god Amun to be removed across Egypt. He was said to have been replacing Egypt’s polytheistic religion with mono1

David King, The commissar vanishes: the falsification of photographs and art in Stalin’s Russia, (New York: Metropolitan Books, 1997), 7

theism. However, soon after he died, his act was reversed and his own name was removed from all temples. Ancient Egyptians believed that destroying someone’s inscription or car touche was equivalent to destroying the person himself, and this held great significance in the afterlife. This “damnatio memoriae” (condemnation of memory) persisted throughout Egypt’s history. Thousands of years later, after January 2011, a court ordered that images of Mubarak be removed from Egypt’s streets, squares, and public institutions.

1 Egyptian

Identity Mural / “When I first opened my eyes, and before my mother knew me, they applied kohl to my eyes reaching my temples, so I can look like your statues.” Kohl is sometimes applied to babies’ eyes when they are first born, a tradition believed to have originated in Ancient Egypt. A baby’s black-lined eyes are compared to ancient statues, showing the strong ties between Egypt’s future — personified as a baby — and

its past — represented as ancient Egypt. The mural represents Egypt as a woman, with golden-brown skin and Mediterranean features, a fusion of ancient jewelry and make-up, with the thick braids of a fellaha (peasant girl) / Project by Haitan — painting by Ammar Abo Bakr, calligraphy by Sameh Ismael, poetry by Ahmed Aboul-Hassan, sculptures by Alaa Abd El Hamid, frames by Nora Nessel and Jan Nikolai / Kasr El-Nil Street, Downtown / June – July 2013

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January 2014

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