Curatorial Rationale
My exhibition’s objective is to portray a reflection of the relationship with my Egyptian culture despite residing in America. To effectively achieve this, many of my artworks are heavily influenced by photos taken during a visit to Egypt. This way, the audience can truly see Egypt the way I perceive it.
In all of my pieces, there is a dominant use of warm colors, such as yellow, orange, and shades of brown, along with some cold colors. Because I have only visited Egypt in the summertime, and it is a place that evokes joy, warm colors are the most suited palette to execute the exhibition’s objective. The inclusion of the cold colors, whether it be a mere hint of blue or a large section of vibrant green represents my comforting and defined home in America.
Viewers can identify the relationship between Egyptian and American culture through my work in two ways: a portrayal of the mix between the two cultures and stylistic alterations of a piece that is based on a photograph. For instance, the crocheted cardigan is an item that serves as a representation of the mix between both cultures. The idea of crocheting a cardigan stemmed from how Egyptian women traditionally dress modestly. The patches and balloon sleeve style are incorporated to represent the trends in American culture, and the wide range of colors per patch portrays the mix of cultures. In regards to the pieces that are inspired by photographs, the texture and color are altered to reflect my perspective on Egypt. Plain Eye View, which is based on a photo taken from a plane, is an example of this. The abstract approach shows that there is some familiarity, yet a lack of clarity with the country. However, the vibrant colors and intriguing textures convey beauty and excitement to connect with the culture with each visit.
Because Plain Eye View accurately presents my relationship with Egypt, I placed it as the first piece of the exhibition. It is followed by a colored pencil drawing of a mosque. Including a piece that represented religion early in the exhibition is essential in order to emphasize its highly regarded nature in both my American and Egyptian cultures. Placing it as the second piece allows the presence of Islam to be carried out throughout the rest of the artworks. To further emphasize Islamic presence, the woven praying mat is placed as the third piece. The viewer can see that this is a mix between American and Egyptian culture due to the pattern in the middle section. Traditional praying mats include a mosaic image of a mosque in the center. This praying mat has a relatively minimalist approach to incorporate an American aesthetic, while staying true to the foundational Egyptian style.
I then placed the photomontage of the camels and pyramids directly followed by An Accustomed Scene. The two pieces are a portrayal of both of my perspectives on The Great Pyramids of Giza. The romanticized and ethereal photomontage image portrays the enchanting feeling that is evoked when visiting the pyramids. Next, with An Accustomed Scene, the viewer is able to understand the other feeling that is evoked when visiting the pyramids: familiarity, which is shown through the form and texture. This is followed by Crocheted Cardigan, Ripening Dates, and Cats on Cars, because they all present a small aspect of the Egyptian culture that I have grown an appreciation for. For example, wearing the cardigan created a feeling of unity as it connects me to other modest Egyptian women. The dates on the palm trees that I long for during Ramadan make me feel closer to my family in Egypt knowing that they are longing to break their fast with dates at sundown, too. The often sight of cats on the roof of cars is a small, yet unique aspect of Egypt that never fails to bring me joy. I placed the photomontage collage at the end as this seemed a fitting conclusion to the exhibition.
Creating the art pieces for this exhibition has allowed me to form a stronger connection with my culture, as I studied and evaluated the pictures I took, paid attention to details in my work, reflected over the important aspects of the culture, and captured its beauty. The order that the pieces are presented would allow the audience to see the beauty of finding a connection to one’s culture in their life, especially when the root of the culture is not always accessible.