2019.02.05       
Amsterdam, NL

It was a couple of years ago when I was asked in an email by Dr. Ornat Lever whether or not I felt art could aid in resolving conflicts. I suspected my response would end up as a small overlooked quote hidden deep within an essay of some text-heavy academic book. Much to my surprise, I received this magnificent tome in the mail, where I am featured alongside some very admirable giants in the arts such as Cui Xiuwen, Frank Gehry, Ron English, and many many others.

Can Art Aid in Resolving Conflicts? is a beautifully-made hardback coffeetable book published by Frame out of the Netherlands. Filled not just with pretty pictures, but also with the opinions of 100 living artists on the relationship of what they do with conflicts and their possible resolutions.

Hardcover, 272 pages
10 x 1 x 11.8 in, 4 pounds  
Published by Frame Publishers
Language in English
ISBN 978-9492311320

Available from Amazon

2013.12       
Cairo, EG

Metal, Glass + Light Bulbs + Speakers + Acrylic Paint on Wood

Standard video game “arcade”, but instead of controls and buttons, there is a sort of crank. And where the television screen is supposed to go, sits a large cylinder covered in pictographs. Upon turning the crank, the cylinder also turns, revealing a never-ending pictorial story: a cyclical clash between authority, faith, art, and feminism; The Clash of Forever.

First exhibited at a collaborated artist-curated exhibition with Ahmed Hefnawy, Ammar Abo Bakr, and Hany Rashed titled “Freedom/Shit”.

Video from Medrar.TV

Exhibitions:
Horreya/Kharya (“Freedom or Shit”)— Cairo, 2013

2008.04       
Berlin, DE

Arabesque is a book about contemporary graphic design from the Arab world and Persia. The book features examples of recent innovative and groundbreaking design work that is inspired by the richness of the Middle East’s visual culture, including a number of posters and graphic identities by Ganzeer. The main topic–Arabic typography–leads through six chapters.

Eps51 edited and designed the complete book in cooperation with Nicolas Bourquin. Published by the Berlin-based Die Gestalten Verlag in April 2008.

2011.09.19       
Berlin, DE

Hardcover, 208   pages
9.8” x 11.5” x 1”, 3.2 pounds  

Cutting-edge graphic work from the Arab world and Iran that is emblematic of the cultural emancipation of this entire area. Young designers in the region are playing a part in this movement by increasingly emancipating themselves creatively. In their work, they are charting their own compelling course between local visual convention and a modern international style. This work is particularly relevant to those creating street art and poster design. Arabesque 2 also features graphic design, logos, editorial design, and illustration by young designers and activists from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Regardless of the location and nationality of their creators, all of the examples included in the book combine modern design with the traditional, letter-based canon of Arab forms in striking ways. The book’s preface is written by John Martin, co-founder of Art Dubai. Additional texts and interviews describe the environments in which the featured designers and artists work. Editors Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma round out Arabesque 2 with a CD-ROM that features four typefaces related to its themes.

Hardcover, 208   pages
9.8x 1 x 11.5  in, 3.2 pounds  
Published by Gestalten
Language in English
ISBN 978-3899553307

Available from Amazon

2013.03.31       
Ghent, BE

Hardcover, 256 pages
6” x 8.9” x 1”, 1.1 lbs

Authored by Ariella Azoulay, Stephane Hessel, Katerina Gregos, and  Elena Sorokina Newtopia: The State of Human Rights looks at human rights through the work of 70 international contemporary artists. Much more than a straightforward exhibition catalogue, Newtopiais composed of three sections. The first part assesses the current state of the human rights debate in essays and philosophical reflections; the second collects contributions by various international human rights activists, in which gripping testimonies and historical reconstructions alternate with socio-political analyses; and the third reproduces a selection of artworks. Among the artists included are Kendell Geers, Taysir Batniji, Alejandro Cesarco, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Woloo, Nikita Kadan, Pia Rönike, Kostis Velonis, Zhou Zixi, Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramovic, Wilchar, Simon Starling, Boniface Mwongi, An-my Lê, and Ganzeer.

Hardcover, 256   pages
6x 1 x 8.9 in, 1.1 pounds  
Published by Ludion
Language in English
ISBN 978-9461300751

Available from Amazon