Hala Elkoussy - 2013

An exhibition by Egyptian artist Hala Elkoussy, May 2013 Mashrabia Gallery, Downtown Cairo

This project by Hala Elkoussy borrows its title from Xavier De Maistre's book "Journey Around My Bedroom" -- in the book, the author undertakes a two-week journey in his own bedroom, experiencing it and describing it as if he were seeing it for the first time. Elkoussy attempted a similar approach to rediscover her own neighborhood: Downtown Cairo. For five months, she walked the neighborhood streets with her camera spontaneously capturing the way residents and street vendors interact and reshape their surrounding. As she explains in the video interview, the visual culture of her hometown is constantly changing, mixing the old with the new, and the temporary with what's been around for years and years. Through her exhibition of photography, street objects and paraphernalia, she tries to bring the audience in on how she sees her surroundings and tries to understand them

For more information on the artist and her work, visit her website: www.halaelkoussy.com For more information on Mashrabia, visit the gallery's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1537562487