P1.1 | L+T | A light, a loudspeaker, a parrot

The Parrot was developed in collaboration with dancers At2uta and Shady Abdelrahman, and sound designers Kinda Hassan and Karine Dumont, blending performance, movement, and sound. It was shown as part of the traveling exhibition The Loudspeaker and the Tower at TSV and KAG in Canada. It will travel to Egypt in 2025.

A light, a loudspeaker, a parrot Cairo, Banff, 2018

The Loudspeaker and the Tower is a long-term research art project that explores the material and political significance of contemporary mosque and minaret architecture in Egypt. Historically, towers like minarets, obelisks, and pagodas symbolized power through their height, and with the advent of minarets and campaniles, they also became transmitters of sound. Mosques today serve as both instruments of control, relaying state-endorsed narratives, and as potential sites of resistance. This project investigates the minaret as both a vertical symbol of authority and a horizontal amplifier of counter-narratives, using photography, interviews, and performance to examine how mosques shape sociopolitical dynamics. During a residency in Banff in 2018, I drafted a script featuring three symbolic characters—a light, a loudspeaker, and a parrot—which later became the foundation for my 2019 exhibition.

A key work from the project became the video The Parrot, where two performers embody surveillance and resistance. The male performer holds a metal structure resembling a tower, representing control, while the female, adorned with multicolored lights and a loudspeaker, symbolizes marginalized voices seeking visibility. Both mime the movements of an imam without speaking, subtly challenging traditional roles and exploring the struggle for agency. Drawing on folk tales like One Thousand and One Nights and stories by Jalal al-Din Rumi, where parrots represent truth-telling and resistance, the video addresses the precariousness of speaking out in controlled environments. This reflects the current climate in Egypt, where mosques have been subject to state surveillance since 2013, imams deliver state-sanctioned sermons, and dissent is met with punishment. The Parrot questions the roles of surveillance and truth-telling, examining how power operates in both visible and invisible ways.