The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Last week was the opening night of “Echoes of the Eye”: the latest art exhibition at Soma Art Gallery, and we were beyond impressed!

Echoes of the Eye is a group exhibit featuring three emerging Egyptian artists with varying art styles who use different media to express their visions. Different subject matters, different perspectives, backgrounds and personalities were imminently apparent as you took your first tour around the beautiful space. One thing that stood out in common is the desperate search for meaning and identity present in all the exhibited pieces. As you enter the gallery, you are first hit with the wave of calm that Yehia O’s pastels inspire. His paintings are larger than life, taking a fantasy approach to reality where the colour combinations and small out-of-the-ordinary details give his landscapes their significant dream-like feel. Next is Yomna Nafea’s monoprint pieces which were all as jarring as they are inspiring. They are the kind of pieces that arouse discomfort and deep thought, nightmarish in nature, reflecting on the subjects she forces you to face without blinking once or twice. Particular admiration goes to her pieces ”‘Look what.. I found another species” parts I and II, which are a shrill reminder and expression of the severe lack of sexual education in our society. As you turn right, Farah Barakat’s significant collage and multi-media work wait for your careful exploration. What is most intriguing about her work is how deceptively familiar it is. From afar, the collection of small figures and canvases seem natural and direct, but as you look closer the distortions make you question the very reality that the pieces take place in.

The group exhibition was curated by managing artist and AUC alum, Dina Jeirdini, who did a wonderful job at marrying these diverse artists and their work. If there was one significant feeling in common, it was the disorienting sense that something was slightly off. Like entering a dream, almost every piece on display made us hyperaware of both the reality we exist in and the one we don’t. Inspiring us to both cling onto the beautiful and ultimately fight the ugly.

The exhibition will run till the 3rd of February. Follow this link for more information.