The thing that struck me when I arrived in Cairo was the overwhelming feeling of utter insignificance. Besieged on all sides by high rise tower blocks, sweeping flyovers and millions of other bodies shifting through the dusty streets, one soon becomes used to the ‘ant’ syndrome.
That you are just another body in a swarm of nobodies. No longer are you a big fish in a small pond, nor are you a small fish in a big pond; you are rather a miniscule sardine in an ocean.
But the most sardine-esque of all is those faceless “nobodies. Clad in uniform, identical galabeyyas and blue overalls, they perform the most menial tasks a city demands, day in and day out.
With his recent exhibition “Everyday Heroes, artist, designer and illustrator Mohammed Fahmy has taken an artistic step to another dimension, transforming these banalities into superheroes. Using methods of traditional art and innovative digital technology, he creates comic book heroes at their best.
Taking these figures from the streets of Cairo and with bold, eye-catching colors accompanied by fine detail, Fahmy has blown them up into imposing, individual characters.
The exhibition stars the kuftagi (Kabab cook), the makwagi (ironer), the nocturnal taxi driver, the garbage collector, the street cleaner, the newspaper vendor, the traffic policeman, the mobile phone guy and the ‘wall man’ (el-fouwa’li).
I was bewildered by what exactly is a ‘wall man’ before a kind waiter at Sequoia restaurant s Townhouse OnSite – which is hosting the exhibition – enlightened me. “It’s the guy who knocks down walls. If anyone needs a wall knocked down he’ll be there, with his hammer. I had no idea Cairo had so many walls that needed knocking down!
However, instead of the dead beat, disheveled nameless faces are razor cheekbones, cutting jawed and muscle bulging superheroes.
The telephone man stands tall and intimidating with a wide-eyed grimace and shoulders any world class rugby player would envy. Brandishing a thick sturdy wooden sign saying ‘talk at your leisure’ and armed with a mobile phone in his top pocket, these paraphernalia are the only clues to his identity. This comic book hero looks nothing like the small podgy guy who sits surly-faced on a stool behind some makeshift desk downtown.
But this is irrelevant. In a comic book metamorphosis, reality is taken out of the equation; after all, these aren’t exactly still life portraits.
Larger than life, each of our everyday heroes strikes a pose that renders him cooler than cool.
The nocturnal taxi bears an uncanny resemblance to something out a Frank Miller scene, and indeed, that is what is intended.
Cruising down a kubri (bridge), headlights beaming, this night watcher is a lighthouse for those nocturnal creatures needing to catch a late night cab home.
But my favorite has to be the traffic policeman. Straight out a cops-and-robbers cartoon with a Middle Eastern twist, his dark eyes and rock jaw makes him a cop not to cross. With his left hand held to stop traffic, and his right on his belt, arguing over a traffic fine just wouldn’t be clever. I know I’ll never look at my local traffic policeman the same way again.
Fahmy’s cartoon masterpieces are on sale, ranging from LE 3,000 to LE 7,000. There’s no way they’ll fail to sell.
Visually enticing, dynamic and aesthetically witty, this is an exhibition that packs one hell of a punch.
