Notable choreographer Walid Aouni has always been known for his detailed, complex visually-rich dance performances that easily placed him on a league of his own.
In an attempt to prove his multi-faceted artistic talents, Aouni exhibited a retrospective of paintings at the newly founded art space, Villa Grey. Unfortunately, the majority of his current displayed works confirm otherwise.
Aouni, considered the father of contemporary dance and the official founder of this genre in Egypt, has gone back to his roots. He is a visual artist who happened to take up dance later in his career.
Aouni, who studied in the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, has often been praised for the ingenuity of his costume design and scenography than anything else. He even presented a show of all the sketches he created for his performances in the past 20 years at the Cairo Opera House two years ago.
His latest exhibition contains no new work. It’s essentially a display of previously exhibited work that goes back as early as 1990. The exhibition is supposed to provide some perspective to the kind of artist Aouni is and illustrates how his subject and technique have evolved.
The most striking impression of Aouni’s work is the strong Surrealist, Dali-like subject. Yet it lacks the brilliant color composition of Dali or the originality of Picasso.
The nightmarish quality that pervades most of the paintings makes obvious references to a troubled psyche. Aouni forces the spectator to regard his work in a Freudian light, highlighting the psychological element of the work and downplaying the artistry behind it.
Villa Grey is a restored mansion in Dokki of exquisite beauty and architectural magnificence. While audience are both stunned and overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, one could not help but wonder if Aouni made the right choice of exhibiting his work there. The erroneous avenue of the exhibition contributes to an overall feeling of visible disparity.
The paintings’ overuse of subconscious symbolism, suppressed fantasies and unresolved fears and miseries distract the audience from the actual presentation as a work of art.
Aouni fell into the trap of using excessive psychology instead of actual painting. His work might be seen as a triumph for first year psychology majors. But pictorially, it’s far from being serious or even original.
The pictorial elements, the images used and the aforementioned themes seem to be sketchy, reminiscent of auto-writing.
While there is nothing wrong in using the technique of an unfinished work, or constructing a crude form of artwork, the symbolism of Aouni’s work at times comes through as insignificant and irrelevant, while the amount of emotional empathy this work elicits from the viewers is almost negligible.
This definitely overshadows the entire artistic process and leaves the audience divided between the clear talent and originality of the artist and the actual subject matter he has chosen to tackle.
The 1920s’ feel of the work as well as its naivete is in stark contrast to Aouni’s elaborate costume design and scenography.
A quick review of his costume retrospective reveals Aouni’s extravagant use of color, bold lines and over-the-top fabrics and materials. The fact that his dance/choreography career has faltered lately may have prompted him to draw attention to his versatility as an artist.
