A tear trickles down a teenager’s cheeks. As a single photograph, it’s emotional enough. But Laura El-Tantawy’s profound text that accompanies her powerful image makes it heartbreaking.
Because, she explains, Reda Abdelaziz Mohamed isn’t crying at all. His left eye constantly weeps from injuries sustained when he was shot in Cairo while kneeling over the dead body of a protester.
A second photograph shows his mangled right eye, which is beyond repair. “It was difficult to take these photographs in 2011 – meeting these people felt like aggravating their wounds,” says el-Tantawy. “Now, it’s almost unbearable to look at them. The revolution has impacted Reda’s life forever.” The photograph of Mohamed is just one of a series of outstanding images taken by El-Tantawy, who was born in England to Egyptian parents in 1980 and grew up between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
When she first returned to Egypt in 2005, the idea was to explore her own conflicted identity and work on a book that would chronicle daily life in Egypt. But in 2011, events in Tahrir Square took over and the project became one of the most arresting photography books of recent times.
In the Shadow of the Pyramids was self-published last year. Its combination of the personal and the political caught the eye of Time magazine and more recently earned the book a nomination for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, to be awarded on June 2.
El-Tantawy understands that not everybody shares the same politics about the events before, during and after Tahrir Square.
But the brilliance of In the Shadow of the Pyramids is that it doesn't glorify or fall into polemic. These are not aggressive, in-your-face images. Instead, she says it marks how the revolution affected upon "normal, individual people who wanted dignity, respect and a place in their country … farmers, plumbers, construction workers."
“The revolution changed the narrative of the book,” she admits, “and it did become more about making sure these everyday people had their place in history, that their stories could be told.”
El-Tantawy says the striking imagery comes from taking a detached approach, both emotionally and professionally, to her work.
“I took a lot of pictures from above, and it felt like I was perched on a cloud,” she says.
“It gave me a funny feeling in my stomach, it was so surreal – and it meant the images ended up being quite impressionistic.”
This blurring of the line between personal and documentary photography also comes through in the old family snaps that are dotted throughout the book, adding an extra layer of poignancy and history – particularly when El-Tantawy writes “the home of your memories is not reflected in reality”.
They might not be the most perfectly composed shots – and El-Tantawy admits that she had to work hard to convince her family to use them, not least because her mother did not cover her hair at that time.
“But these delicate, precious and intimate photographs were really important to the book,” she says. Happily, she won her family round.
And yet the Deutsche Börse nomination has undoubtedly changed the work from something intensely personal about the country she loves into something that people from around the world are now engaging with. Mohamed was just someone she met. But now he’s a symbol.
“My book is not hopeful, I know that,” she says. “But there has to be hope for a better Egypt. It might take a few years to get there, that’s all.”
• In the Shadow of the Pyramids is presently sold out. To see images from the book visit www.lauraeltantawy.com
artslife@thenational.ae
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
More on animal trafficking
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
