Category: Articles
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Getting over a Breakup Medication from Ibn Hazm to Antidepressants
In his work, Tawq al-Hamam (The Dove’s Collar), the Andalusian writer, Ibn Hazm, tells the tale of a man he describes as wise, reasonable and sensible—until the day he travelled to Baghdad and stayed in one of its inns. ‘There, he saw the innkeeper’s daughter, fell in love with her,…
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The bourgeoisie, real estate & nation-building, or how the Egyptian & Middle Eastern art markets operat
In 1989, Egyptian billionaire businessman Nassef Sawiris walked in to a trade fair at the Marriott Hotel in Cairo. Various luxury goods were exhibited alongside high-end furniture and expensive antiques. An exhibition of works by important artists of the period occupied one corner. The portraitist and still-life painter Sabry Ragheb was…
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Viktor Dyndo’s uncut impressions
An overwhelming sense of excitement and familiarity arises the moment the viewer’s eye falls on Viktor Dyndo’s work. Familiarity is caused by the flag-burning image, which has become a political fetish crowding the Internet and television. On the other hand, excitement is associated with the intense appearance of symbols in…
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A Writer on the Swing of Fear
I was a young lad watching TV with my grandfather, who appeared full of sorrow when he followed a news segment that showed a frail, old man lying in a hospital bed with tubes attached to his body. My grandfather quipped that the old man was a good man and…
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The World Cup, Chaos and Corruption
published first time at: versopolis.com Fifa’s most tedious make-believes are the notion of ‘fair play’ and the idea that the World Cup brings nations together in a celebration of football, peace, sport, and the future of childhood. Everyone knows they’re a pack of lies, but we need them: To keep…
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Nurturing Love in Prison
When thrown into prison, you realize that the hustle and bustle, the friends, all the pomp and fanfare, everything that has ever surrounded you all disappear into thin air. Nothing remains. The beloveds, the mothers, and the wives are the only ones who continue to linger, persistent. Diligently visiting, preparing…
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THE LIFE OF BASTARDS
On a wall facing the police station in Zamalek, one of Cairo’s bourgeois neighborhoods, someone has written: “The life of an ethical individual is based on following the universal system of ethics, but the life of bastards is based on reversing that universal system.” Next to this sentence is a…
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From Cairene Alleyways to European Festivals: The Journey of Mahraganat
Though its birth does not precede five years, Mahraganat music has surged into a phenomenon, invading Egypt’s sonic atmosphere and beyond. This phenomenon has crossed borders and seas and made it into the European and international acoustic vernacular. The adolescents who, five years ago, huddled in the streets of Matariya…
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Fate of Revolutionary Art in Egypt
In 2003, French philosopher Alain Badiou gave for the first time his lecture entitled “Fifteen Theories on Contemporary Art” at New York’s Drawing Center. In his lecture, Badiou explains the determining features of contemporary art, including a definition of what he calls “non-imperial art.” Badiou bases his definition on Antonio…
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A Sad Melody at the End of the Road
Published for the first time on the old blog at Aug. 2013 The time for retreat is past and all the chances to avoid this path have been burned up. The incendiary speeches are escalating from every side and are morphing from incitement to war speeches. The television stations put…