This sculpture–painted by Ammar Abo Bakr as part of the group exhibition “AMEN – A prayer for the World–brings artwork from the street into the gallery, a visual memory of the revolution in the artspace. The revolution has been against the military regime and the Islamists over the past three years, with artwork expressing this on the walls as a witness to events unacknowledged by state media. These murals and graffiti are now instantly recognized by the public and part of its visual vocabulary. In the kneeling posture of prayer, the figure is painted in pink camouflage and wearing a military hat, a connection with the pink camouflage mural on Mohamed Mahmoud painted by a group of artists back in November 2013 on the third anniversary of clashes there between demonstrators and the security services. (More about the mural here: ceip.org/L8LGC0) Beneath the statue is a prayer mat, painted to resemble a board game with an army officer at the helm, a comment on how the military power in Egypt uses religion in a kind of dirty game, referenced by the flies pasted onto the otherwise prayerful pose. On the back of the figure is stenciled the flag of Saudi Arabia, a clear symbol for how the regime plays with religion. That the figure should be in the kneeling position is a comment on the religious-like adoration of and subservience to military figures by some in the country, where the military has dominated state affairs since the 1952 revolution. The exhibit, part of the Caravan Festival of the Arts bringing together Egyptian and Western artists, is co-curated by CARAVAN founder Rev Paul-Gordon Chandler and participating Egyptian artist Reda Abdelrahman. Its currently at the El-Bab Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, Cairo Opera House and is sponsored by SODIC - Official Fan Page. Its set to tour Washington D.C. (National Cathedral from August 30-October 6) and New York (Cathedral of St. John the Divine from October 12-November 16), where the painted statues of 18 Western artists will join their 30 Egyptian counterparts. (Photos courtesy of Amanda Mustard and Abdelrhman Zin Eldin).
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:07:30 +0000
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