P3 / project content — Manar Moursi

This project was curated by Aida el Kashef, produced by Mahatat and a collaboration between the following artists: Manar Moursi, Mohamed Hasan, Yasmin el Ayat, Laila el Balouty, Maya Gowaily, Yusef Faltas, Abdallah AbouZekry, Shadi el Hosseiny and Ahmed Mostafa. It was performed in about seven different neighborhoods in Cairo in 2014.

Related projects:
Kodak Green Oasis

Rainbow Moon

Making Sense

Wonderbox Mahatat for Contemporary Art, Cairo, 2014

In 2015, I participated in The Wonderbox project, organized by filmmaker Aida el Kashef and Mahatat, a Cairo-based initiative for community art. The project brought together nine artists to create two unique storytelling boxes for live performances across Cairo. For the first *sandook* (wonderbox), I was inspired by the mirrored Islamic patterns I had seen in Mashhad, Iran, and Cairo’s small shops. We designed a geodesic sphere with mirrored triangles, evoking the psychedelic impact of these patterns as well as magic crystals, disco balls, and praxinoscope animation techniques. The sphere's futuristic design reflected light as it traveled through the city, resembling a giant spaceship. Inside, the sphere was animated with illustrations by Maya Gowaily and Yusef Faltas, brought to life by creative technologist Yasmin Elayat. The structure was designed to be easily assembled, transported, and reused for future performances.

The second *sandook* was inspired by Cairo’s familiar ice cream carts. While retaining the recognizable form, we added a new color palette and shapes to draw viewers in. This design created a two-level immersive experience, where viewers could peer through holes to see projection mapping, holograms, and animations. Storytellers Laila el Balouty and Ahmed Mostafa collected stories from taxi and microbus drivers, blending real and fictional elements with music by Shadi el Hosseiny and Abdallah AbouZekry. One standout tale featured the mythical loss of Simon Bolivar’s sword, with animated statues in downtown Cairo narrating their personal histories. Each *sandook* presented three stories, allowing a small audience to experience them privately. Architect Mohamed Hasan and I worked with the team to design the *sandooks* to engage both those peeking inside and those observing from outside, ensuring a visually captivating and inclusive performance experience.