Born in 1981, Medhat Soody studied commerce at Cairo University but made photography his career on graduating. He settled in Paris in 2013, and gave his first two solo exhibitions – depicting live performances – at Opera de Massy Gallery in 2017 and 2020. In 2023 he exhibited street photography under the title Reflets (Reflections) at the Tango Gallery in Paris.
“It wasn’t easy to exhibit in Paris because of the highly competitive art scene, but there is always space for different and unique art,” he told me. “After the success of Reflets, I thought I wanted to examine the same concept and technique in the streets of Cairo, taking pictures of people’s reflections in the puddles. I wanted it to be even more significant and symbolic.”
Three years after Reflets, at the end of March, he managed to take advantage of an unexpectedly heavy downpour to create Familiar Blur, the 17 monochrome images that, together with a conceptual video, made up his recent exhibition at Falak Gallery in Garden City.
“Knowing that heavy rain is rare in Cairo, I was the happiest man when it rained that day. And I hastened to take the pictures before the sun could dry the puddles in the streets. Taking pictures of figures reflected on the surface of water was different each time. There were moments when the rain created circles, or when it generated slow waves because of the wind, or when someone walked in it, making a splash.”
Due to the technique, some pictures look surreal. A picture of a stray black dog whose head is hidden in a garbage bag floating on the runoff is peculiar. Another, expressionist picture shows a man with one leg, walking with a crutch in the water. In other pictures wet pavements are just above the heads of people, making the world a confusing and uncertain place.
“I felt that I couldn’t see things as they were in reality, because they were not so simple or superficial. There is a depth to regular scenes. This was a way to bring it out. I’ve tried other media for reflection, like glass or mirrors, but water reflections are more aesthetically satisfying. I seek the meaning behind the shot. It is not just about aesthetics, as you can see in some pictures there is no beauty as such, but there can be beauty in ugliness. For example, the dog’s image, which depicts only half of its body, reflects something meaningful.”
There is less visual blur than paradox, and the many forms of destabilisation that the photographs achieve are exactly what the doctor ordered.
“It’s good that viewers see my images from different perspectives. This project took after five years away from Egypt, so when I finally came home, I felt that blur strongly. I felt that things were unclear,” he explained. “I always go back to nature, yes. I believe that water and wind are important factors in making good pictures. I take all the elements into consideration, so once I adjust my camera, the shot is ready, a finished piece. I don’t do any editing on my pictures. I don’t even take many shots of the same scene. A good shot requires the right moment where all elements are right. For this collection, I had to wait for hours, hiding myself and my camera from passers-by in the street, waiting for the proper moment when a figure’s reflection on the water materialised. Once I managed to stay longer in one spot, I tried to become invisible, a seamless part of the scene.”
Soody took the pictures in many parts of Cairo: Al-Khayamiya and Al-Muizz Street in Islamic Cairo, middle-class neighbourhoods of Al-Mohandessin and Heliopolis...
“One of the differences between street photography in Cairo and Paris is that people in Paris are always rushing, they won’t care about a photographer taking pictures, whereas here people pay attention. One more thing is that the streets in different parts of Cairo are full of stories, loaded with symbols and cinematic imagery.”
Soody has worked on other projects where composition is the main factor, like his 2023 International Women’s Day project, which depicted women refugees of different nationalities in Paris and was sponsored by the UNRWA.
“I prefer street photography because it brings up shots that are more deeply tied up with visual art than mere photography. I like this spirit of a sharpshooter or a hunter more than the preplanned studio sessions.”
Soody first exhibited in Egypt in 2025, alongside the Syrian artist Lina Malki at Dai Gallery in Zamalek, and he has found Egyptian viewers to be more “compassionate and curious” than European ones, a normal consequence of photography exhibitions being more common in Europe than in Egypt, he says.
“I enjoy monochrome pictures more,” Soody says, explaining a central aesthetic choice. “My camera is adjusted to the monochromatic option. It is because I seek the light, and I believe that colours and light do not go well together. Monochrome pictures also entail more abstract and expressionist shots.”
Soody worked on many documentaries for Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and ARTE. His documentaries focus on Arab refugees and Egyptian labour in France. In 2014, he worked as a cameraman in a documentary on Al-Sheikh Imam, the legendary oppositional composer and singer, and in 2016, he worked on another documentary about the crisis of Syrian refugees. In 2023 and 2024, he was a director of production for the documentaries The Middle Beast Tour, and Dreaming Big respectively.
“Working in the documentary film field gave me patience, the ability to meditate and the eagerness to study and research. Living in Paris for 13 years gave me the chance to spend time in museums and see exhibitions, which has enriched my visual memory. As I walk the streets, I always take pictures with my mobile, the way a painter might make sketches to artists. Then I decide which picture to make into a whole project.”
Living between France and Egypt has little effect on his choice of themes.
“I see my movement between the two cultures as a valuable experience, and I try to express that through my lens. The world is too big to be seen in a lifetime. We, photographers, see only a small part of it, which is the frontier of our sight. That is why, when I find a good shot, I hasten to take it because there is no time to waste. I am thinking of starting a second part of the same project to depict street life in other cities in Egypt, especially in the south, where public celebrations, moulids and harvest seasons create brilliant scenes. I am planning to exhibit the Blur collection in Paris too. Showing my vision of the Egyptian streets to a different audience would be another significant experience.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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