(Photo: part of promotional material for Matigi exhibition)
Darb 1718 is displaying work by Sayed Arafat, titled Matigi (Won’t you come) and opening on 17 May, where he explores gender roles in Egypt's patriarchal society and street harassment women are exposed to through his series of monoprints.
The term "matigi" is a suggestive invitation, though it holds many unwelcome connotations on the streets when used as a catcall.
Inspired by personal experiences of the artist’s female friends, the work “captures how women find themselves the objects of gawking, whistles and cat calls from random males in the streets of Cairo,” according to Darb 1718’s description.
With material collected over the past year, the multimedia works aim to document this unabated phenomenon by portraying women alongside captions describing their experiences on the streets.
An artist and activist, Arafat works with wood-cut and colored prints. For seven years he attended Mohamed Abla’s Fayoum Art Centre.
Programme:
The exhibition opens on 17 May at 7pm and runs till 31 May
Darb 1718, Kasr El-Shamaa street, El-Fakhareen, Old Cairo
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