Artist: Wael Shawky

Barakat Contemporary presents Wael Shawky’s (b. 1971, Egypt) second solo exhibition at the gallery.

Wael Shawky has established a distinctive narrative world that blurs the lines between reality and fiction through a diverse range of media, including video and film, drawings, paintings, and installation. His practice, which reinterprets traditional historical narratives, encapsulates concepts of artistic, religious, and transnational identity, grounded in extensive research on history and mythology.

Shawky is widely recognized as one of the most significant contemporary artists from the Middle East, renowned for works such as the Cabaret Crusades trilogy (2010–2015), which reenacts the history of the medieval Crusades from an Arab perspective using marionettes; the Al Araba Al Madfuna trilogy (2012–2016), which reimagines myths through performances by child actors; and Drama 1882 (2024), showcased at the Egypt Pavilion of the 2024 Venice Biennale.

This exhibition highlights Shawky’s pivotal early video works, including The Cave (Amsterdam) (2005), Al Aqsa Park (2006), and the Telematch series (2007–2009). Addressing themes of East-West dichotomies and religious conflict, these works deliver profound messages through playful and unexpected approaches. While visually contrasting with Shawky’s recent works, they reveal recurring themes and techniques that continue to resonate throughout his practice. In particular, the exhibition explores how entertainment from popular media is employed from various perspectives to examine complex social structures related to politics, religion, and gender.