ABU MAHARAQ / DESERT WASHING (video
9'22'' / October 2012)
The
works ABU MAHARAQ/
DESERT WASHING, BURULLUS, AL BURJ/ PLANTING, MEHWAR AL MONIP/ CAMEL
TRAVEL, CHAMPOLLION/ WHITE PIGEONS, were made for an exhibition in
Gezira Art Centre in Cairo. Men and women in Eygpt are often valued and
treated very unequally. To oppose the common behaviour towards women
the primary concern for this exhibition was, amongst others, the
appreciation and accentuation of female dignity and
feminity. This
happened for example by simply exchanging the usual role allucations.
The
first joint work in the dunes of the Sahara. The desert area
is called Abu Maharaq.
In Egypt the washing of feet has a long tradition but the woman washes
the feet of the man.
Reversing these roles and washing with desert sand from this terrific
landscape, exhibits an accentuation and a special appreciation of
womankind.
Womens´s hair, having an erotic connotation, plays a
prominent role in the monotheistic cultures.
For centuries now the washing of feet has also been a subject in
Christian religious art.