The blank space lasted barely one night. Within 24 hours of workers painting over the cacophony of graffiti on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, new paintings, stencils and vignettes flooded back to fill this contested urban canvas.
Some artists began immediately on Thrusday, while the new under coat was still drying. Others gathered on the Friday and launched themselves into the challenge of depicting Egypt’s past, present and future in new and exciting ways. Perhaps the best explanation for why people refuse to relinquish artistic control of the Mahmoud Street walls is found in one of the designs, where an artist confronts a demonic security officer. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the battle between the paint brush and the riot baton is live and ongoing on the walls around Tahrir.
Photos by Hassan Ibrahim