Storm Over Cairo credits mobile

Storm Over Cairo will be published by Edition Fink, Zurich, at the end of 2024. It is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, an Al Serkal Research Grant and a Mophradat Writing Sabbatical Grant.

My text was edited and read by the following interlocutors, who generously shared feedback that was formative to the writing: Amy Cheung, Elizabeth Fox, Iman Mersal, David Puig, Thalia Rubio, and Sarah Sarofim.

Storm Over Cairo Coming soon in 2024

Storm Over Cairo is an artist publication created as part of The Loudspeaker and the Tower project, taking readers on a journey along Cairo's ring road and roads tracing the Nile. It brings to life new desert housing projects, illegally built mosques on agricultural land, and the city's rich soundscapes, while also interweaving ghosts from my past. After nearly ten years of photographing new mosque constructions and interviewing residents, I merge these voices with a personal essay on migration, grief, and gender tensions, all within the framework of a circular narrative that mirrors my physical and spiritual journey on the ring road.

The publication consists of two parts: newspaper zines and a book. The zines, placed inside the book, are organized by specific roads and contain photographs that accumulate physical imprints from readers' bodies, echoing how Cairo's landscape is shaped by the actions of its inhabitants. This tactile interaction adds a personal dimension, turning the newspapers into unique artifacts. The use of this format, often linked to state media and propaganda, mirrors how informally built mosques project alternative narratives through their loudspeakers, subverting official discourse. In this way, the project explores themes of surveillance, control, and resistance, while the accompanying book weaves together interviews and personal reflections to offer a multi-layered exploration of Cairo's urban and socio-political landscape.

Storm Over Cairo will be published by Edition Fink, Zurich, at the end of 2024. It is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, an Al Serkal Research Grant and a Mophradat Writing Sabbatical Grant.

My text was edited and read by the following interlocutors, who generously shared feedback that was formative to the writing: Amy Cheung, Elizabeth Fox, Iman Mersal, David Puig, Thalia Rubio, and Sarah Sarofim.