Walking into the Sawy Culture Wheel’s new exhibit “Contemporary Copts, by artist Emad Farouk, is like entering a world of effortless harmony, standing in stark contrast to the blaring horns and grime outside.
Coptic art is known for its skilful simplicity, a theme readily realized in Farouk’s work.
The solemn faces of saints, worshippers and religious figures, peer out of unadorned wooden frames, beckoning the viewer to look a little closer.
Farouk’s 15 paintings embody the characteristic flatness of Coptic wall paintings. Figures are depicted frontally, with large eyes and smaller mouths to signify a spiritual connection with the divine.
“I tried to make a new style for the Coptic art with the symbols of Coptic art, trying to make classic Coptic art contemporary, Farouk said with the aid of a translator. “[The] symbol and types of Coptic [art] with a new vision. I tried to make the paper like the wall, with the technique and the colors, he described.
The Copts are ancestors of the first Egyptian Christians and the term ‘Copt’ comes from the Greek Aiguptoi. After the conversion of Constantine in 300 and prior to the Arab invasions, the Copts enjoyed a 300-year pinnacle of religious and cultural hegemony in Egypt.
Throughout consequent history, Coptic art, once flourishing, was poorly preserved. Massacres as well as religious rituals involving incense damaged old works. When preservation of ancient art began in Egypt, Pharaonic relics were unearthed and preserved with zeal, while Coptic art was ignored.
Interest and preservation in the style outside of the community itself is only slightly over a decade old. Artists like Farouk who draw attention to olden forms while empowering newer artistic notions are in dire need in the small minority.
Coptic art was established in wall murals and illustrated papyrus paper in its zenith in the second century. Farouk uses a new technique for Coptic art, paper and layered paint, to give the appearance of age-old traditions in the recreation of biblical scenes. The textured look is created by using acid on 90 gram carton paper, forcing the paper to rise and take on an overlaid look. A vivid pastel pallet is present throughout the exhibit, with hues of blue common to Coptic textile art repeated in the course of the works.
The craftsmanship took seven months and was inspired, according to Farouk, by a rejection of the prevalence of new graphic and computerized media in Egyptian art. Seeking to re-embrace traditional art, Farouk succeeds in making the olden form interesting to the modern viewer. Woeful donkeys and melancholy saints emit a hint of happiness, which comes from a place the viewer can’t pin down.
There is only one painting that feels as though it does not belong. Although it depicts a fish, an early symbol of Jesus, the piece seems amiss amongst the biblical scenes. Some might call a number of works infantile, but the style fits perfectly in the scheme of Coptic art and Farouk succeeds in conveying the simplicity he yearns for.
Regretfully, as seems to always be the case with the Culture Wheel, the largest downside to the exhibit is the lack of placards naming the pieces.
Not only does it make the exhibit less educational, prevent the artist from conveying a focal point or explanation of the scene, it also inhibits direct communication with the viewer.
Even worse, the lack of signs makes the whole thing look like a hallway and not a place to showcase real talent, like Farouk’s. The white walls are covered in handprints and brown marks, consistently taking away from the professional demeanor and attention artists, like Farouk, deserve.
Farouk’s work is harmonious; the paintings simplistic and uplifting, hampered only by an unprofessional presentation that is out of his control.
Given the Coptic struggle for recognition in the Egyptian art scene, artists like Farouk, who return to the traditional and enhance it, perform an important service for the entire Egyptian community with this exhibit.
“Contemporary Copts is showing at the Sawy Culture Center everyday from 9 am to 8 pm until May 19.
