Work of Wael Shawky and Bahia Shehab, shortlisted for Jameel Prize 4 (Photos: Courtesy of V&A press release)
Egyptian artists Wael Shawky and Bahia Shehab were among the 11 artists and designers shortlisted to receive this year's Victoria and Albert Museum’s (V&A) Jameel Prize – awarded every two years -- that is in its fourth round.
Shakwy, who is based in Alexandria, presented his project Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo (2012), the second chapter of a trilogy in which he tackles the histories of the crusades from an Arab perspective based on Amin Maalouf’s 1983 book The Crusades Through Arab Eyes.
He uses crafted glass marionettes, with objects and drawings accompanied by music, to present the detailed horrors of these historic religious wars.
A designer and associate professor at The American University in Cairo, Shehab’s work tackles contemporary design issues with traditional Arabic script and calligraphy.
Her project, titled A Thousand Times No (2010), traces the history of the Arabic letter lam-alif, which spells the word for "no" in Arabic. The project also displays on a plexiglass curtain a thousand different shapes of the word in Islamic history.
In addition, the project includes a book that documents the artist’s research of the letters.
The other artists shortlisted for the prize are David Chalmers Alesworth, Rasheed Araeen, Lara Assouad, Canan, Cevdet Erek, Shahand Hesamiyan, Lucia Koch, Ghulan Mohammad and Shahpour Pouyan.
The shortlist was selected by a judging panel headed by V&A director Martin Roth, from 280 nominations.
The prize is worth 25,000 euros and is granted to a contemporary artist or designer with work inspired by Islamic traditions of craft and design.
The winner will be announced on 7 June, one day before the The Jameel Prize 4 exhibition, which will run until 14 August and is to be held for the first time outside the V&A premises at Turkey’s Pera Museum.
In the future, the exhibition, which already went on international tours every year since the prize was launched, will rotate between the V&A and international guest venues.
According to the V&A press release, “works on show will range from delicate paper collages to an animated video installation with marionettes and from ceramics, calligraphy and sculpture to artist’s books.”
“This year’s shortlist includes not just a diversity of practices from sound to film to minimalist sculptures, but also evidences a growing confidence in the artists, many with strong reputations in the global art world, to assert their multiple identities – both contemporary and rooted in Muslim cultures,” Hammad Nasar said, one of the prizes judges.
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