Mahmoud talaat - Man passes there through forests of symbols

Much like the city of Cairo, man carries with him several dimensions. He can be both violent and tender, fast and calm, exciting or dull. Conveyed through the artwork, this manifests itself as the surrealism of the city, its surreal strangeness, ugliness, and melancholy, whose roots are the unconscious. I build and destroy and build again on the canvas. I learned from the city’s body, a body that is always violated. Both the body and the city are violated at the same time. It is impossible to know where one ends and the other begins. At the same time, you feel conflicted and maybe even ashamed. How can you feel sad about the destruction of heritage when others’ lives are being violated only kilometres away from you? And a relationship between the painting and me is born. Likewise, it cannot be said how it begins and how it ends. A dialogue that is subject to continuous change, additions, demolitions, and dialogue again, bound by the dark and pale colour that match the nights of the city.

Mahmoud Talaat
January 2025