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Hala El Sharouny – “Untitled”
Hala El Sharouny is passionate about her art, driven and free-spirited. She tries to steer clear of politics, although there was no way to ignore it before and after the 2011 revolution in Egypt. Even then, though, her graffiti work was leavened with humor.
“I have all the freedom in the world and I can express myself in all the ways I want,” El Sharouny says with a smile. But. She’s an independent woman in Egypt. Of course, there is a but.
Struggle
Establishing a name for herself in the fickle art world has been “quite a struggle”, particularly in the past few years. In 2011, El Sharouny took part in a contest organised by the Culture Ministry.
“The theme was Egypt after the Revolution and I wasn’t feeling particularly optimistic. I painted a huge ugly mother breast feeding eight small ugly creatures. Of course, the work was refused and they threw it in the bathroom of the Palace of Arts. I spent four hours looking for it before I eventually found it in a poor condition.”
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