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Biography / Aalam Wassef

Aalam Wassef - Selected Works 1995-2011 - Installations, photography, sound pieces, online performances, hybrid pieces

Aalam Wassef was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1970 and lived in France for over 20 years where he graduated from Fine Arts before engaging in his career asan artist and an independent publisher.

His work involves a variety of media and forms of expression, according totime, place and purpose: animation, installation, photography, sculpture,music, songs, drawings, paintings, happenings and video.

From 2006 to 2011 he worked under several identities and signatures, due tothe fact that a large part of his work had political implications in Egypt. OnFebruary 11th 2011 he “came out”, after the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.

Away from the violent topics addressed in his anonymous work, his otherpieces revolve around visual and poetic representations of time, memory andthe fact of living.

Selected exhibitions / 2007 - 2010OK Museum for Contemporary Art (Linz, Austria). Parcours West II (LaGénérale en Manufacture group show, Paris) , Biennale d’Art Contemporain(residency, Dieppe), Galerie Marie Watteau (solo exhibition, Paris), 01SJFestival – “Art on the edge” (opening performance, San José, USA), FestivalVidéoformes (video, Montpellier), L’Échangeur (solo exhibition, Paris),Parcours West III (La Générale en manufacture, group show, Paris), Pôle M(group show, Paris), Sabotage (group show, La Comète, Paris), We will beheroes (solo exhibition, Cairo, 000-001), Galerie Conradi (with Philip Gaisser).

Upcoming exhibition / 2011Cracow Museum of Contemporary Art (upcoming group show).

Black Wedding1 still, 11 blow ups

2006Analog photography, digital blow-upsEpson micro-bubble inkjet print on rag paper70 x 70 cm


AboutParis,2006? New Orleans 1930?The guests of a baptist weddingare standing on the street,singing, parading, glowing. The photographs I took homewere utterly disappointing.No vibration, no singing, nodetails. The rough and noisyblow-ups I made of one singleshot, helped restore the stuffand details this moment wasmade of.

eBay Project8 stolen photographs, enlarged and fixed on tiles - Site specific installation

2006Black bra in good conditionInkjet prints30 x 45 cm


AboutAs I browsed eBay, I was takenaback by the contrast betweenpublicity and privacy. Although the context of eBay was strictlycommercial and practical, itseemed there was another ongoingnarrative, the same narrative onecan find in social networks wherepeople attempt to meet other people or simply tell the world thatthey exist.The woman in this picture is sellingher bra for $5 dollars. She stands inher bathroom, in front of the mirror. Note that she needs toreplace her roll of toilet paper.

LocationLa Générale en Manufacture, Paris.

We Will be Heroes 1/3Indoor and outdoor hybrid piece - Location : Sayyeda Zeinab neighbourhood, Cairo, Egypt.

2009MuralBlack marker and acrylic. Rhinestone suspension.800 x 350 cm



2009Sheets, rhinestone, wall painting, installation of objectsVariable sizes



2009Outdoor video projection in a wasteland400 x 300 cm


Not in a million yearsSite specific installation - Location : Sayyeda Zeinab neighbourhood, charcoal street shop - Cairo, Egypt.

2010Installation50 x 500 cm


Time Stamp CollectionWhat came out of a 10 year old box

2010Analog photography, digital scan16 x 12 cm


Time Stamp CollectionBurning Penelope

2006-2010Digital photography and drawing70 x 70 cm


Time Stamp CollectionEve, Alice and a laptop

2002-2010Drawing on photo paper, scanned and printed16 x 24 cm


Time Stamp CollectionMy

2010Digital photograpphyEpson micro-bubble inkjet print on rag paper30 x 40 cm


Time Stamp CollectionLes deux amis

1995-2010Scanned polaroidsEpson micro-bubble inkjet print on rag paper70 x 70 cm


AboutParis,2006? New Orleans 1930?The guests of a baptist weddingare standing on the street,singing, parading, glowing. The photographs I took homewere utterly disappointing.No vibration, no singing, nodetails. The rough and noisyblow-ups I made of one singleshot, helped rethis moment was made of.

Time Stamp CollectionKitchen table

2003-2010Scanned analog photographEpson micro-bubble inkjet print on rag paper30 x 40 cm


Time Stamp Collection30 slides in a jewel box

1997-2010Slides, jewel boxCropped digital photograph30 x 30 cm


Time Stamp CollectionButterfly

2010Melted wax on ice25 x 30 x 20 cm


Time Stamp CollectionCells or maybe planets

2010China ink on glass6 x 6 cm


Time Stamp CollectionDefinitely cells, not planets

2010Reversed digital photographsChina ink on glass6 x 6 cm


Kindness4 acryclic paintings on plexiglas, d’après photographie

2010White acryclic and china inkPlexiglas150 x 300 cm


Left : Ayatollah KhomeinyRight : Adolf Hitler

Obamasite specific installation

2008Stainless steel, laser cuts150 x 300 cm


AboutPortrait of Barack Obamadisplayed in November 2008, on US election results. This por-trait was shown for 30 days in avespa repair shop, at the veryheart of a poor neighbourhoodin Cairo.

Visitors looking at Obama.

When I die, I’ll miss Coca Cola - Picturing what I’ll forgetvideos

2008Video. 2’30” and 6’640 x 480 pixels


Time Stamp CollectionRow it down the stream

2010Video, 4’30”720 x 576 pixels


Time Stamp Collectionpainting

2010Gouache on canvas220 x 435 cm


Time Stamp Collectionpolaroid installation

2010Polaroid prints13 x 166 cm


Time Stamp Collection.eivom hcaep ehT

2010Video installation, loopEpson micro-bubble inkjet print on rag paper90 x 120 x 40 cm


Time Stamp Collection3 ink paintings on glass

2010China ink on glass100 x 100 cm


General view of Galerie Conradi (Hamburg), featuring an installation by Philip Gaisser.

Egyptian Postcards 1, 2, 3 and 4online videos

200615” online videos850,000 views on Youtube640 x 480 pixels


AboutThese four videos were the firstworks I released in 2007 underthe pseudonym “Ahmad Sherif”.The goal I pursued till 2011 wasto expose what Egypt really was,so we could put an end to blindclichés. It has finally appeared toeveryone that Egypt was apolice state ruled by a ruthlessdictator and a corruptentourage.

The Tyrant’s Capeonline installation and video performance

2007Plastic sheet, camera stand, chinese sticks, paper, masking tape, fluo marker150 x 200 cm

2007Online video performance30”, 35,000 views on Youtube640 x 480 pixels


AboutCairo, May 2007, it’s PresidentHosni Mubarak’s 80th birthday. For the second time, I invite theEgyptian blogosphere to celebrate the tyrant’s anniversary. The piece on the left is an accessory I used in a video that was widely disseminated on the Internet and in the press.I further put the Tyrant’s cape on sale on eBay, for 80 millionEgyptian pounds, which corresponded to the size of theEgyptian population at that time.

Blogger in the Palace - In Bed with Hosnionline drawings

2007Ink drawings on paperScanned and inkjet printed15 x 12 cm and 16 x 13 cm


AboutFantasy. A blogger runs up thestairs of the presidential palaceand enters a room where the dictator and his wife are asleep.

Hosni Mubarak for kidsonline installation

2006Toy alphabetPlastic30 x 30 cm


AboutThe word written in Arabicsays: “corruption”.

Dictatorships for dummiesonline video, posters and stickers

2007Video with arabic voice over, 1’06”Inkjet prints, stickersVariable formats


Free Women, so whatonline animation

2007Video, 34”Animated ink drawings65,000 views on Youtube640 x 480 pixels


AboutThis short animation addressesfreedom of faith, way of life,dress and advocates equalitybetween women and men.

Death in a police stationonline video and song

2007Online video, 3’03”85,000 views on YoutubeVideo performance and song640 x 480 pixels


AboutThis video and song address torture in Egyptianpolice stations.The song was alsoreleased as a free MP3file.

Sankyooonline video and song

Online video, 1’24”113,000 views on YoutubeVideo performance and song640 x 480 pixels


AboutThis video addresses the decayand poverty of Egyptiansociety. It says “Sankyoo” to thepresident (thank you).The song was also releasedas an MP3 file.

Made in Mubarakonline video

Onine Video, 32”15,000 views on Youtube640 x 480 pixels


AboutThis video displays a keyboard“made in Mubarak”. Each keyyou press plays one of hisfavorite words: corruption,humiliation, theft, torture.

Actor of the yearonline video

200751” online video230,000 views on Youtube640 x 480 pixels


AboutThis video reached a very highrecord of views in a very shorttime. It was released todenounce a corrupt judgementthat was issued by the Egyptianjudiciary.A man had been arrested, rapedand torture in a police station.He happened to be filmed whileall this occured, and a cell phonevideo was released on theInternet. For once, there wasvisual proof that could be usedin a court of law.The judge’s verdict was that thevictim was acting and that thevideo was a fabrication.Heavy support campaignsoccured at that time and, a yearlater, the victim won his caseand for the very first time, apoliceman was sentenced to jail.This video is an audio and videomontage mimicking the Oscarawards in which the victimreceives the “Actor of the year”award. The last screen is a message to President Mubarakin 5 languages.

Documentary


Available at : http://www.youtube.com/aalamwassef - documentation on my work as “Ahmad Sherif”

2008Documentation presented at OK Museum of Contemporary Art, Linz (Austria)Ars Electronica AwardHonorary mention for the Hybrid Arts Category

Links


http://www.soundcloud.com/aalamwassef - songshttp://www.youtube.com/aalamwassef - videoshttp://ahmadsherif.wordpress.com - videos, songs, happeningshttp://www.youtube.com/ahmadsherif - videos, songshttp://crisdegypte.libe.blogs.fr - articles, songs and videos

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