Egyptian artist Wael Shawky will be a major presence at the Venice Biennale, representing the Egyptian national pavilion. Starting on April 17, he is set to stage a solo exhibition at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani, as well as display work within a presentation of the collection of Qatar Museums.
Shawky is known for his performances and videos that sift through hardened understandings of the past to force us to rethink what we know.
For the Egyptian pavilion, he is creating the video Drama 1882, which hones in on a specific moment at the tail end of the Urabi revolt, a nationalist uprising in Egypt. In 1882, violence spread across Alexandria – Shawky’s hometown – after what is believed to have been a dispute between a British council officer from Malta and a man whose donkey had just ferried him across town. Around 250 Egyptians are understood to have been killed, as well as 50 Europeans.
The riots were part of a larger revolt led by Ahmed Urabi, a military officer from the peasant class who sought to depose the Egyptian leader and dislodge British and French influence in the country. Though it is considered one of the first instances of Egyptian nationalism, the event was also a Pyrrhic victory. After the unrest, the British moved to officially take control of the country, and their colonial rule held well into the twentieth century.
For Shawky, whose work zeroes in on meeting points between the Arab region and Europe, the moment’s sheer uncertainty gives way to artistic possibility. That stems from the status of Urabi – later vilified by the British – as a nationalist hero, to basic understandings of what happened, starting with the dispute between the two men.
“You have the written history, but you try to work with it as a human creation,” he says. “With the Urabi Revolt, we know the results. But what happened to lead to the result has always been in doubt.”
Shawky made the video at a historic open-air theatre in Alexandria, working through the rain and cold temperatures of the winter months with a cast and crew of nearly 400. The work is a musical, and Shawky asked the actors to perform in slow motion, often at different speeds to each other. Despite this formal estrangement, the work is relatively straightforward. For the first time, he used professional actors and has called the work a “documented play” as he leans into drama as an art form, as the title implies.
“For all the previous films, I was always trying to escape drama, by using marionettes or kids or masks,” he says. “This time, I felt it was a challenge to connect history to theatre.”
How we perceive history is as important to Shawky as what that history is. In the same way that water cannot be contained without a vessel, history cannot be passed on without a story, narrative or song that communicates it. In his beautiful The Song of Roland: The Arabic Version (2017), Shawky revisited the 11th-century Chanson de Roland – an immensely important and popular song that circulated in France for centuries – that describes the victory of the Emperor Charlemagne’s nephew over the Saracens, or Muslim Arabs.
Shawky’s version is sung in the equally ancient style of fidjeri, a form of vocal instrumentalisation that derives from pearl-diving in the Gulf. The work is a neat reversal of authority – the story told from the other point of view – but also a celebration of the Saracens. The performers, seated with drums on the stage, wear period costumes of richly embroidered linen and silk that suggest wealth, sophistication and embedded tradition, as they narrate their exploits in battle.
Shawky addressed another pitched confrontation between the Arab region and Europe in his trilogy Cabaret Crusades (2010-2015), a remarkably affecting work that reimagined the Crusades through marionette theatre. More than a hundred intricately costumed puppets, which Shawky found rotting in a basement of a collection in Turin, reframe the stories of the wars, showing how Arabs fought against each other, as did Europeans, rather than simply East versus West showdowns.
A departure from this black-and-white understanding also occurs in I Am Hymns of the New Temples (2023), which will have its premiere in Venice at the Palazzo Grimani. The work presents Pompeii as a spectacular site of myth and history intertwined, pulling together stories from Greek and Roman mythology, multiple religions and the enduring fascination after its rediscovery in 1700s. Filmed in Pompeii itself, it is the first release from the new contemporary art programme launched by the archaeological site.
Shawky’s presence at Venice Biennale is also significant because it is one of the first times he has shown work affiliated with Egypt since the revolution. For the past decade he has mostly travelled on the biennial and museum circuit, though he still works in Alexandria at the art school he established, Mass Alexandria.
The Egyptian pavilion is in some senses a homecoming – but it is also an organisational feat. The invitation came with little material support from the Ministry of Culture, nor – unusually – a curator, and Shawky has taken control of everything from funding to logistics.
He asked his longtime friend Mai Eldib, the Sotheby’s senior vice president for the Middle East, to help with fund-raising and organisational logistics. She assembled a group of private patrons in Egypt – none of whom had previously contributed to the Venice Biennale – to underwrite the cost of production and exhibition, with Shawky’s four galleries contributing further financial support.
Egyptian writer Yasmine El Rashidi took over publication for the project, and is now working as artist and curator with a team to give feedback on Shawky's work and its timely reframing of a key moment in contemporary history.
“This is really the moment to reflect on these historic events, but also the mapping of borders and how it all links to the present day,” says El Rashidi. “Right now there is a sort of crumbling of the global order, and Wael’s work speaks to that in its own subtle and ruminative way.”
Wael Shawky’s Drama 1882 will be at the Egyptian Pavilion in the Giardini for Venice Biennale from April 20 to November 24. I Am Hymns of the New Temples will be in his solo show at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani from April 17 to June 30. His work will also be part of the exhibition Your Ghosts Are Mine: Expanded Cinemas, Amplified Voices, organised by Qatar Museums at the Palazzo Franchetti from April 19 to November 24.
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Scotland v Ireland:
Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn
Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.
Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
