Cairo is hard work.
Given the smog, the traffic and the crushing weight of bureaucracy which seeps into all aspects of life, just going about your daily routine feels like a Herculean ordeal.
While this tense, crowded environment usually expresses itself through the cacophonous din of car horns on Cairo’s streets, once in a while, the struggle coughs up a piece of creativity.
Such is the case with “A Visual Diary from Planet Cairo, a new gallery show by a young artist named George Azmy, who poured his frustrations into a series of stark, otherworldly illustrations.
The show opened at Townhouse Gallery last week and runs until the Jan. 26.
In the show, all of the black-ink drawings feature self-portraits of a bloated, heavy-set Azmy going about his daily routine – and looking miserable in the process. Still, given the cartoon-like renderings, it’s safe to assume that when Azmy put his pen to paper, he also had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
“I’m exaggerating a bit, but I meant to do this is because it feels like you’re drained totally of energy and every little move takes so much effort, Azmy, 23, tells The Daily Star Egypt.
In one piece, Azmy floats over a ramshackle skyline wearing an iPod while gooey bits of slime rise up and threaten to pull him down into the primordial stew below. Other pieces show Azmy – looking tubby and unhealthy – curled up in a fetal position on his bed, or slumped in a stiff chair facing away from his TV.
Not exactly portraits of the artist as a young man, then.
“Even the simplest tasks seem complicated in Cairo, continues Azmy. “I have to go through seven steps to do anything.
Last year, in a bid to document his everyday life and come to grips with its nature, Azmy began drawing. Thankfully, unlike its subject matter, the creative process flowed easily and Azmy realized he had enough pieces for a show.
However, implicit in his creations is the opinion that man’s true life is only reflected in private – something which Azmy says relates to the increasing homogeny of Egyptian city life.
“All the shops are directing their business to mobile phones now. It’s like the whole city is in a shade of grey, he says, adding that “you live your life in private with your friends.
Another series of drawings show the artist’s likeness transplanted onto animal bodies; a metaphor which Azmy says relates to the indomitable Cairene spirit which pushes on despite the harsh, urban environs.
“If the environment changes, then the person adapts. If he’s thrown into the sea, he’ll become a fish, says Azmy, who graduated from Helwan University’s fine arts faculty in 2005.
However, rather than go the starving artist route, Azmy’s been keeping his bills paid by working as an art director at an advertising agency.
One piece shows Azmy standing in a room overflowing with gadgets and household items like appliances, computers and telephones, but there’s only one power outlet.
Azmy says this situation refers to the lack of options open to young Egyptians, who are told that if they want to achieve, they must leave the country and pursue their goals elsewhere.
“People tell me ‘you can do this and you can do that’ but not in Cairo, he says.
Indeed, Egypt is bursting with human resources, but it lacks the job creation power to put it to use.
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom, he says.
“People are noticing now that there’s something wrong and it’s been going on too long. You have to know where the problem is to solve it.
