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Page i: Detail from Tomorrow by Zeft, Cairo. Pages ii–iii: Munaqqabat with minis by Caram Kapp, Cairo. Page iv: Top: Revolution by HK, Cairo; center: Mural on a restaurant in Luxor; bottom: Mural celebrating 25 January 2011 by students at the Fine Arts Academy, Zamalek. Page v: Red heart by Yasmine, Cairo. Pages vi–vii: Artist Ammar Abu Bakr draws the first portrait on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, Cairo.

First published in 2012 by The American University in Cairo Press 113 Sharia Kasr el Aini, Cairo, Egypt 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 www.aucpress.com

Copyright © 2012 by Mia Gröndahl

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other- wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Dar el Kutub No. 11827/12 ISBN 978 977 416 576 4

Dar el Kutub Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gröndahl, Mia Revolution Graffiti: Street Art of the New Egypt/ Mia Gröndahl. —Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2012 p. cm. ISBN 978 977 416 576 4 1. Egypt—History 2. Revolution I. Title 962.055

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Preface

“Tell us about Egypt, is there a lot of graffiti?” I was touring the Middle East with my photo exhibition, Gaza Graffiti, and I often found myself standing in front of an interested crowd who expected a well-informed description of the street art in Cairo, where I lived. The last time this happened was just one day before 25 January 2011, when the Egyptian Revolution began, and I had absolutely nothing of value to say. To my knowledge, I lived in one of the few graffiti-free countries in the world. The Egyptian youth didn’t write without permission on public surfaces. The wide spectrum of street art—individual tags, stencils, pieces, and murals—

€ Commercial calligraphy, Imbaba.  “Revolution of the Youth of Imbaba” (smashing “the parties” and “the Military Council [SCAF]”), by Hosni, Cairo.

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that usually belong to an urban landscape, had escaped Cairo. People looked at me almost in disbelief: “No graffiti in one of the biggest cities in the world? How odd!” The Egyptian Revolution took the world by surprise. Equally un- expected was the outbreak of writings on the walls that ran parallel with the Revolution. The Egyptian people called for freedom, bread, and social justice, demands that newly-hatched ‘graffitists’ trans- lated into stencils and drawings that spread like wildfire in the streets all over Egypt. And it wasn’t a passing phenomenon; one and a half years later, the street art of Egypt is still growing and has caught the attention of the entire world. ⁄ Pilgrimage paintings for Haj Farraj, Old Gourna village, Luxor. I believe human beings from time immemorial have a strong fl Commercial calligraphy, Imbaba. need to communicate and tell the rest of the world: I exist! I am ‹ The writing on this house was done prior to the 2011 revolution and claims “70 Million here! During my research for this book I realized my view on graffiti Yeses for President Mubarak.” Imbaba. had been too limited. I not only learned that writing and painting actually had occurred here and there in pre-Revolution Egypt, but also that this very old nation with its remarkable cultural heritage, in fact, could boast of having some of the world’s oldest graffiti within its borders; rock drawings discovered in the Egyptian desert might be as old as 23,000 years. Groendahl_Revolutionary_Graffiti_inside_pages_1_Groendahl_Reolutionary_Graffiti_inside_samples 27.08.12 14:14 Seite xi Groendahl_Revolutionary_Graffiti_inside_pages_1_Groendahl_Reolutionary_Graffiti_inside_samples 27.08.12 14:14 Seite xii

Clockwise from top left: Sad Panda interacting with a stencil by Keizer; Sad Panda’s signature; Sad Panda with Keizer; Sad Panda with Keizer’s armed Snow White; Sad Panda with Keizer’s armed Snow White.

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When we look at graffiti in this wider sense, it’s obvious that the Egyptian people never really stopped expressing themselves by artistic means that can now be characterized as ‘graffiti.’ Starting in prehistoric times, when giraffes and elephants were brought to life by a couple of simple strokes on a desert rock, the Egyptians embarked on an art journey that has left its mark until our time. All kinds of graffiti, varying from simple scrawling to skilful calligraphy and colorful paintings, appear in ancient tombs and temples, Coptic churches, and on the walls of Muslim village homes that have been decorated with Hajj paintings, celebrating the pilgrimage to Mecca. And before advertising billboards were erected in the cities, it was common to hire an artist to write and create a commercial slogan directly on the wall, and many of them still remain. I traveled to all the major Egyptian cities in search of Revolution graffiti. I talked to people from all generations, and most of them expressed their liking for the new street art. They didn’t find it strange. After all, it is probably just a modern expression of old Egyptian ways of communication: It’s all written on the wall.

€ Stencil graffiti, Mohandesin.  Commercial painting on Tahrir Street, Cairo.  Hands dipped in blood, from the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha, Maadi.

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Revolution &Freedom

The 25 January Egyptian Revolution opened the floodgates for a wave of street art. In the beginning it wasn’t clear how strong this new expression would be, but by the summer of 2011 the constant flow of graffiti had caught the attention of the media, and people started to talk about the walls of Egypt being under an “art attack.” Graffiti was rare before the revolution. Occasional writings and drawings appeared on the walls of Egypt, but were quickly removed. Protest art was a mission impossible under Mubarak’s regime, where the Ministry of Culture controlled all public expression. The eighteen days of mass revolts that finally toppled the stagnant regime of President Hosni Mubarak became an emotional earthquake for the country. Decades of oppression and despair suddenly were turned into optimism, a newborn vitality and energy, allowing people to explore new freedoms—including the right to make art freely.

€ Celebrating the revolution in poetry, Minya: “The dream came back, without warning.” (For the translation, see page 192.)  Detail of a mural by students at the Fine Arts Academy, Zamalek.

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€ “Freedom must be coming,” “Field Marshal’s Slaughter Street (formerly Mohamed Mahmoud),” corner of Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Tahrir Square, Cairo, November 2011. › “One hand,” Maadi.  “Civilian government,” Alexandria. fl “25 January,” Maadi. ⁄ Detail from a mural by students at the Fine Arts Academy, Zamalek.

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