Sameh Al Tawil www.samehaltawil.com
Art Portfolio 2013
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READY TO GO مستعد للرحيل Performance, Bern, Switzerland 2013
READY TO GO
مستعد للرحيل
Installation, Bern, Switzerland 2013
READY TO GO مستعد للرحيل
Installation, Bern, Switzerland 2013
READY TO GO مستعد للرحيل
Installation, Bern, Switzerland 2013
” Cairo’s Digital Art Festival Engulfed in Politics “ CAIRO — A man holds a placard of former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi and faces a screen playing footage identical to the man’s surroundings, almost. On the screen, the sign he’s holding turns into a photo of Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El-Shater. The other signs featuring non-Islamist leaders appear as either Islamist politicians or members of the Mubarak regime. Chants supporting President Mohamed Morsi echo through that Zamalek street. Sameh El-Tawil was taking pictures and video footage. He said he’ll post the “fake” video online showcasing the distorted image of reality, his own commentary on the nation’s media and political scenes providing both a backdrop and inspiration to his and others’ digital installations that breezy March night. By: Sarah el-Sirgany for Al-Monitor Posted on May 2013
VS. بالعكس Augmented reality art Di-Egy Fest Cairo 2013
” A man holds a placard of Al SISI Egypt’s military commander and faces a screen playing footage identical to the man’s surroundings, almost. On the screen, the sign he’s holding turns into a photo of the Isolated President Mohamed Morsi. The other signs featuring nonIslamist leaders, Slogans or / and messages appear as either Islamist politicians, members, slogans or says of the #Muslim_Brotherhood regime. Chants supporting Former President #Mohamed_Morsi and his regime echo through that #Installation. This project inspired by the nation’s media and #political scenes confusion in #Egypt and critically reflects on the history of #performance and #interactive art and the politics of #new_media_art in fragile #post_revolutionary Egypt.”
VS. بالعكس Augmented reality art Amaze Fest Joburg, ZA 2013
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Integration Interactive Art 2013
A442HZ
Life-Video/Audio performance Exhibited in Cairo 2013
Click here to Watch the Video
“A 442 Hz” “Songs of the Revolution”
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is a single-screen digital video installation by Egyptian artist Sameh Al Tawil. Musicians holding different instruments emerge in front of the steadily focused camera from beyond the screen of the film (hors-champ) and into the limelight of the camera’s – the public’s – attention. A small orchestra of Egyptian musicians begins to take a seat, tune their instruments and prepare for a performance, a concert, in front of the spectator.
The image is plunged in a death-blue cast that enhances its sculptural form. Three minutes into the digital film it seems this is no rehearsal session but an abruptly beginning performance in its own right, intentionally missing out on the organic test sound of 442 Hz whilst plunging into an array of sound deliberations. Since the 2011 Egyptian revolution the interrelation of art in public – and primarily in digital and virtual – spaces and politics has created a new paradigm of a digitally enhanced reality.
The awakening civil dissent in contemporary Arab society has been attended by forms of artistic and aesthetic agencies that reflect on an impure aesthetics that carries the struggle and fatal consequences of the asymmetrical conditions and means of the Egyptian uprising. Media technologies, mobile media and their crowd-sourcing capacities in particular – virtual counter-spaces -, for one, have not only paved the way for a rhizomatically perceived political movement and structure of the upheavals across the Arab world since 2011, but they have also mirrored and finally enacted the political demands and actions of the people in real-time.
This rhizomatically ‘medial’ form and perception of the insurgency in an art context is conceptualized in virtual passages of new media art and the decisive role digital technologies and social networks have played during the revolutionary processes.
Al Tawil’s film installation epitomizes the counter-punctual sound of disparate individual ‘players’ in rhizomatic structures of political performers and their digital impact in the visibility of events. The intentionality of gestures of incoherence and dysfunctionality culminates in indulgent, self-satisfied facial expressions of the musicians at the end of their performance. The one minute time span of testing sound, pitching instruments for an orchestra, is transformed to lived time and re-enacted rehearsal; the duration of tension and lasting inconsummerability.
Al Tawil conceptualizes the disruption of political events, civil political activism, and national repercussions through the sound of disharmony; sound, the medium of sensual allurement and intuition then transforming to a medium of ‘resistance’ directed against the blatant power of ruling political regimes and their imposition of religious ideologies and arbitrary laws and rules.
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The re-enactment of fatal arbitrary decisions and their continuation of staged harmony and unity in pseudopolitical ruling powers of parties is just one speculation on Al Tawil’s work. His digital installation critically reflects on the history of performance in video art and the politics of new media art in fragile post-revolutionary Egypt.
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Article by Rania Gaafar, Germany 2013 (B.A., M.A., Research fellow at the HFG Karlsruhe / media arts.).
STOP Life-Video/Audio performance Exhibited in Cairo Performance festival 2011
STOP live-performance is dedicated to the dissolution of barriers between virtual and real space.Deals with the question of appropriate instruments to cross the borders between the real and virtual worlds.In this performance artist looks for solutions in available strategies of content and technology, and for new instruments, which have yet to be developed.Opening both worlds for each other equals the creation of an imaginary space, which is made available for staging. Stop Performance concentrates on the perception of viewers, recipients and dancer of and within this imaginary space. The “stage in one’s head” as an imagination area.The theme of this project has been in existence at my mind since the Egyptian revolution days 01/2011. The common feature of these project and some of my recent projects is the concern to develop and continue the possibilities of expanding exhibition space. V/A Manipulation by Sameh Al Tawil | Performer: Kamal Rabea 2011 Click here to Watch the Video
STOP Life-Video/Audio performance Exhibited in Cairo Performance festival 2011
Click here to Watch the Video
MIND SQUEEZE Life-Video performance Exhibited in my Youtube channel 2010
Mind-squeeze: Video and performance 2010 In this project I was trying to perform a real-time physical mind-squeeze Mind-squeeze is an expression used when someone is trying to come-up with a big original idea or a creative solution for a big problem. I suffer most of the time thinking about several things starting with an advertising idea ending to myself, my society and the whole world! in this video i was trying to use my body movement and real time music as well to increase my thinking performance and to show a physical translation of the thinking procedure real-time in front of a webcam.
BRAINSTORM Musical performance 2010
Brainstorm: Performance 2010 In this project I was trying to squeeze my brain more and more real-time in order to get more than a visual ideas or phrases, I used my body-language and my music knowledge as well to express my feelings about many things in a powerful way... Technically, I’ve programed a simple Audio program with Max MSP language translates my body’s positions into music, so i can Visualize & audiolize my ideas at the same time. I’ve performed many different brainstorming sessions with different topics, one time i was analyzing my history and trying to make connections between different stations in my life trip.
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Soft&hardware:
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- Max Msp 5 - Wii remote - FM8 music -Osculator 1.10
BRAINSTORMING Musical performance 2010,Exhibition in Karmat ebn hany Hall, Cairo, Egypt
Brainstorming is a name for a time or a meeting where/when people set together and squeeze their minds to come up with new idea or solve a problem in a creative way My brainstorm performance was a chance for my to confess, remember things and analyze certain points in my life taking decisions and find solutions in front of myself and publics Click here to Watch the Video
SOLO 1 Video&Performance 2005, Exhibited in the Fine art academy in Munich, Germany
SOLO: Video and performance
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in this project I was thinking about myself as an Arabic guy in Germany! carrying all of my history and culture over my head... the difference between the culture i am coming from and the western Culture was like a handcuffs on my hands ....
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this performance and video was a decision to play piano even with the handcuffs.... I decided to keep both cultures and mix them inside me to come up with my own world.
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In this project i’ve improvised oriental music for piano and played it myself real-time Click here to Watch the Video
SOLO 2
Video&Performance 2005, Exhibited in the Fine art academy in Munich, Germany SOLO2: Video and performance
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in this project I was thinking about myself as an Arabic man in Germany! carrying all of my history and culture over my head... the difference between the culture i am coming from and the western Culture was like a handcuffs on my hands ....
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this performance and video was an oriental scream on conga with the handcuffs....
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In this project i’ve improvised oriental rhythm for conga and played it myself real-time Click here to Watch the Video
MEETING Interactive video-installation 2006 Click here to Watch the Video
Meeting: Interactive video-installation
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In this project I’ve Created a virtual meeting between the publics and a video guy laying on a hospital bed when people come near the bed the virtual guy detect the visitors and start a talk about many themes, about himself, difficulties, love, Revolution, death, Etc‌ he sings sometimes, screams, laugh.. and when people leave he stopped talking.this project was an invitation to accept and communicate with others even if they come from another dimensions! Url: Watch Video
MEETING Interactive video-installation 2006
Exhibition in the Fine art academy in Munich, Germany 01/2006 Click here to Watch the Video
MEETING
Interactive video-installation 2006
Exhibition in the Goethe institute Cairo, Egypt 10/2006
Exhibited 3/2005 in the U-ban gallery Munich, Germany
VISITORS Video 2005
Visitors: Video and performance
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this video has been made in Saudi Arabia in the desert I invited some of my Egyptian friends in Saudi to meet in the desert and discuss our problems as foreigners talk, fight, make fun, in front of a camera after that i started to manipulate the video and produced a video version of our meeting the video visualize in an artistic way how they feel about their life Click here to Watch the Video
VISITORS Video 2005
Exhibition in the U-ban gallery Munich, Germany 3/2005 Click here to Watch the Video
NO WAY Animation 2004
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No Way: Animation
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I‘ve started this animation as a sketch for my video “Visitors” i was just exploring the human life -tempo then i developed it to deliver a new idea about cultural Revolution. for me cultures are like tempo in music, we all have different life-tempo according to our cultures the word no way means no right direction or accurate tempo for everyone... Revolution is a sudden sync to our own tempo, we should deal with the cultural differences and the smart one never forget his tempo and understands and taste other tempos an well Exhibited in the Fine art academy in Munich, Germany 01/2004
Click here to Watch the Video
(26) Video 2005
26: Video !
It’s my 26th birthday and i decided to create another video about myself and my life-tempo I got a motorcycle and captured a video with the maximum speed i could reach later i decided to make the video more blur and noisy but still fast this is my life at this time Speedy, shiny, noisy and funny at the same time Click here to Watch the Video
TANZ FĂœHRER
Super 8 video manipulation 2005
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This project based on an old 8mm footage i found accidentally, that has a documentary for Hitler in munich the main idea was to puppet the strong Hitler and make him dance. I started to play with this footage physically by coloring and scratching it then to play with the old 8mm projector by speeding, inverting and slowing the film by playing the video bake and force i got a basic dance movement synchronized with the old projector noisy sound.
TAWLA Video - installation 2004
Tawla: Video 2004 Exhibited is Goethe institute Hall, Cairo Egypt
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It’s a Documentary video installation visualized a dialogue between two Egyptians when they are playing Backgammon on a cafe on the street in cairo.... the dialogue summarized most of the life aspects in Egypt and sometimes the background spontaneously complete the dialogue. Click here to Watch the Video
DOMINO Video documentary 2005
Domino is a very public game in egypt that could be found in almost all of the cafes, 4 people can play at the same time for about 1 hour in order to finish one round.... this video documents one round of a domino game where you can see the players hands and hear their voices talking about many things politics, religion, Fun, Etc... Click here to Watch the Video
DOMINO Video 2005
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KOPF
Video installation 2004 Click here to Watch the Video
Kopf: Real-time Video installation and performance
Exhibited in Goethe institute Hall, Cairo Egypt
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I’ve created this project in Germany 2004 , in this project I ‘ve created a virtual cafe in the exhibition hall in cairo and projected a real-time 5 video streams from Egypt and Germany for 5 different people (including myself) sitting on cafes in Cairo and Munich the virtual space shows the 5 people as if they are sitting together, this video is a virtual try to Mix the Egyptian German culture visually .
Kopf: Real-time Video installation and performance Exhibited in Goethe institute Hall, Cairo Egypt 2004 Click here to Watch the Video
GRABMAL Video installation 2004, Exhibition “Right on time” Frankfurt Dom, Germany
Grabmal or Ma’am in arabic is a holy grave for a holy person,s people visit the grave to pray and wish things for themselves and their relatives and friends, what interests me that many people believes that the dead guy still has the power and the connection to god, and his grave is a communication access point..... I decided to imitate this symbol (grave) and already builded a grave in the exhibition hall in frankfort and projected a sufi dancers video in the background walls to put the viewers on the same situation and see how it would affect people from other culture
GRABMAL Video installation 2004, Exhibition “Right on time” Frankfurt Dom, Germany
Click here to hear the ambient
RADIO
Video 2001
Radio: Video documentary !
A short video of an Egyptian friend � Haney� the video captures a 20 Min of his work-life in the very old workshop owned by his father a very unproductive process and an old radio in the background commented in a very funny and spontaneous way on the video.
Click here to watch the Video
Cupboard: Video documentary !
Another short video of an Egyptian friend � Alaa� the video captures a 20 Min of his life in an old storage.. and how he is dealing with the life limitations the radio is playing again a big roll of enriching the video in avery artistic way... but the cupboard played the greater one!
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Click here to Watch the Video
CUPBOARD
Video 2001
SLAVERY DOCUMENTS Documentation 2005
SLAVERY DOCUMENTS Documentation 2000
Slavery documents: Performance, photos, Mono-types, and installation this project is a very first try for me to evaluate myself and the society surround me, I’ve created this art work during my workresidence in Saudi Arabia1999-2000 ... Although, I needed this job to get money for my study expenses in germany, but I was very angry about the country and the inhumanity in it’s low, as a foreigner employee i need to take a written permission from my employer for any and everything! can’t travel, or even buy a car without permission! it’s one year of slavery with documents I’ve collected all the official permissions and some photos for me wearing a saudi clothes and some photos for other slaves. this folder is a documentations about my feelings in saudi at the time 1999-2000
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Click here to Watch the Project
SLAVERY DOCUMENTS Performance 2000
In this project I was trying to explain my feelings about my life in Saudi 1999-2000 I felt myself as a slave in a package I missed my human rights and freedom In this performance i covered myself and some other employees with plastic to communicate that we became a blurry humans, and the plastic covered with stamps and shipping structures as if we are cargos ready for shipping
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Click here to Watch the Project
Photography Projects
“PALACE” By Sameh Al Tawil 2011
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Upside Down 2013
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Under-looks 2013
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FAYOUM
Landscape session 2010
SEA
Landscape session 2010
REVOLUTION
MASSIVE Urban session 2010
MASSIVE
Urban session 2010
Thank you www.Samehaltawil.com