After the passing of Hany Rashed’s father, the frivolous objects he spent his lifetime collecting as a hobby, have become a priceless treasure that connects the artist with his father. The remaining memory of his late father’s physical existence was only presented through his father’s collectables, that were soon the showcases of Mathaf Baba (My Father’s Museum). Rashed is one of the participating artists of the Art D’Égypte’s latest exhibitions, Reimagining Narratives.
At Al-Muezz street’a Bayt Al-Suhaymi, Rashed showcases some of his father’s collectables which he spent his lifetime collecting.
“After my dad passed away few years ago, I started digging into the things he collected most of his life. Most of them were either broken or without a real meaning; nonetheless, it felt like they are the only thing connecting me to him now,” Rahsed told Daily News Egypt.
The exhibition showcases a number of rusted keys, broken chains, glasses, and timeworn birth certificate; things that almost exist in everyone’s home, and were a part of almost all Egyptians’ childhood.
“Digging deep into these things left me with one continuous question ‘why did he leave me all of these things?’,” he explained. He soon started a Facebook page with the name of Mathaf Baba.
The pictures of Rashed’s father collectables were met with huge success after detailing how he personally connect to these things.
“Most of them already have things similar to the ones I posted belonging to their parents or grandparents who died. Soon, the trivial things that almost everyone threw away, became the real connection we all share with our lost ones,” he asserted.
The Facebook page started receiving pictures from people who want to share with others the things that were left with from their loved ones.
“The true value of things, are not in their price. But in the memory it leaves with you. My father could have left me money, but I would not have remembered him the way I do now,” he concluded..
