Myths and Legends Room – The Mural

Overview

Myths and Legends Room – The Mural looks at the genre of large-scale wall painting as commemorative propaganda art, making reference to murals and dioramas that celebrate the history of modern Egypt. Conceived and completed a year before the start of the Egyptian Revolution, Hala Elkoussy’s piece seems to anticipate the events in Tahrir Square.

Through the distillation of recent myths and legends, a more fluid and human reading of history is brought forward, in sharp contrast to what is taught in schools in Egypt and most of the Arab world.

Elkoussy’s parallel universe takes its cue from a tradition of storytelling in which everyday characters fight against the odds while adhering to noble values.

The starting point is a 'polished' reality, offering alternative ways to navigate the topography of the city and negotiate an individual position within the masses, amid political apathy and under the pressures of consumerism and restrictive social norms. Elkoussy addresses modernisation as a loss of tradition, as well as a challenge: to inscribe a sense of the past, as contained in habits, customs and urban legends, within the current visual language of film and photography.

2013

This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 11