Egyptian artist Farghali Abdel Hafiz draws inspiration from London
The bright, red double-decker buses, the rows of Victorian houses, the sprawling River Thames and the outline of a Beefeater trigger instant reminders of scenic London. On closer inspection, however, the canvases begin to depict a London very different from the typical postcard scenes. This is “Farghali’s London.
This bustling cosmopolitan city is unique to artist Farghali Abdel Hafiz’spenetrating eyes.
Abdel Hafiz has had a long, tumultuous relationship with Britain. In 1956 when he was a high school student in the Delta village of Deirut, he walked around with his friends, carrying a wooden ladder, he recollects, printing messages on the city walls: “We denounce and reject the assault that Britain is leading against Egypt.
Despite the artist’s animosity towards Britain’s foreign policy, he found respite when he visited an exhibition of Henry Moore’s sculptures in the early 1960s. There, on the banks of the Nile in the serenity of the Andalus Gardens in Cairo, he found a way to broach his animosity towards Britain.
“The timing of this exhibition made me realize that art was able to extend bridges of forgiveness and reconciliation between nations, and to turn over new pages in their relationships, Abdel Hafiz wrote in the introduction to his current exhibit.
The Moore show marked a new dimension in his relationship with Egypt’s former colonizer. Of his first visit to London in 1964, he wrote: “There, I felt more and more that art, being itself an emotional and spiritual endeavor, is more powerful than science in joining humans and winning their hearts.
Fast-forward to November 2006, when Abdel Hafiz suddenly decided to paint London. Invited by the Egyptian-British Friendship Association as part of a panel discussion on the positive relations between the two nations 50 years after the Suez Crisis, Abdel Hafiz seized the opportunity to capture his feelings towards Britain on canvas.
He is inspired only when three elements meet: memory, the present, and the future. “When I was in London, I felt the three converged, he told The Daily Star Egypt. The result is a series of mixed media sketches of the cosmopolitan in Abdel Hafiz’s unique style.
The artists spent three days traveling through the city, sketching up to six hours a day. He would choose a spot, place his stool, and oblivious to the curious stares of passersby, he would quickly sketch the scene before him with soft pastels, he explained.
These became the skeletons of his final artwork, abstract mixed with representations of figures. When he returned to the sanctuary of his Cairo studio he would add the colors – sometimes even glitter – for emphasis and balance.
Abdel Hafiz points towards a large canvas with a figure of a Beefeater marching prominently in its center. He chose to only outline the figure in a strong red because he felt that coloring in the figure would result in a postcard-like scene and overshadow the other elements in the picture. Instead, he chose to represent the Beefeater as a small intensely colored figure, horse and all, at the bottom-left-hand corner of the canvas.
His method of spontaneously sketching his scene accurately captures the dynamism and vibrancy of London.
But the final canvases say just as much about the city as they do about the artist.Canvas after canvas depicts couples embracing, vibrant flowers and hearts. This, Abdel Hafiz explains, symbolizes romance. The flowers are a medium of affection. These do not necessarily represent London. The warmth, the romance, and affection towards others, the artist points out, are part of Egyptian culture. Just as he exudes warmth, these scenes of London are infused with the artist’s own culture. Even some of the figures have distinctive Egyptian features.
Abdel Hafiz’s sense of humor is also evident in his work. A colorful crown is drawn over one figure’s head, relating the English pride in their heritage. He jokes about the incessant writings and signs posted on London’s streets, and one of the drawings has “Look Left written on the street, and “Look Up written in the sky.
The images are layered on the canvas. The contours of London’s architecture act as a sort of backdrop. Figures and symbols are superimposed on the scenery. There is an element of transparency to some layers as an image creeps to the eye from behind another.
This technique, Abdel Hafiz notes, dates back to the Pharaonic temples where the Nile is drawn with the fish clearly seen swimming – although realistically they should be invisible under the water. Similarly, London Bridge floats above a building, and a statue of Queen Victoria hovers in a corner.
Unbound by technique, Abdel Hafiz is a bold artist.
“I’m a rebel, he says.
And his art certainly supports this claim.
Farghali’s LondonZamalek Art Gallery11 Brazil St., Zamalek, CairoTel: (02) 735 1240www.zamalekartgallery.comOpen from 10:30 am-9 pm (except Fridays)Exhibition runs until April 4
