Touring Cairo as a comic book character of by-gone years is exactly what Francesc Ruiz presents at Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) until November 27, with his newest comic book series, The Green Detour
Have you ever wondered what it might be like view Cairo as a visitor from the past? Maybe as -- a cartoon character from the past? Touring Cairo as a comic book character of by-gone years is exactly what Francesc Ruiz playfully presents at (CIC) with his newest comic book series, The Green Detour.
International characters from comic book history are united for an adventure exploring Downtown Cairo. There's Samir, a happy Egyptian boy; the Crushed Citizen, an oppressed character from DC Comic's Flash!; the confident colonial, Tintin; and Donald Duck for an Americanized opinion. To complete the series, readers must tail the characters to discover the next issue's distribution point. The first issue is available from CIC. In this way readers are taken on a real-life tour of the city with the fictional experience of illustrious comic characters.
The issues are well crafted by Ruiz, a man fascinated by how stories and gossip are disseminated and how points of distribution can spontaneously act as a speaker for a city. In new work constructed for CIC’s exhibition room, Ruiz recreated in entirety a Cairo newsstand, including front pages of every publication offered held down by stones you must see Ruiz researched the history of comic books in April and May 2010 on residency at CIC, Cairo. Ruiz produced two new works for the CIC exhibit: The Green Detour and a Newsstand replica, complete with full publications. In a new work made for CIC’s exhibition space, Ruiz has recreated a Cairo newsstand in its entirety, including the front pages of all its publications held down by intriguing stones.
Ruiz was born in Barcelona, Spain, and lives and works in Barcelona and Berlin. Ruiz’s recent shows include Big Bang at Centre d'Art La Panera, Lleida, and La visita guiada / The guided tour organized by Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía at Abadía de Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos. He is currently preparing another solo show at Gasworks, London: Gasworks Yaoi.
CIC is located at CIC 4th Floor, 22 Abdel Khalek Tharwat, Downtown Cairo. Francesc Ruiz's solo Exhibition is showing 18th October - 27th November 2010. Opening hours: 10-6, Tues-Sat or by appointment.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/221.aspx