‘il corpus homanus’: a very human...

THE EGYPTIAN GAZETTE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2009WEEKENDER

The Middle East’s oldest English-language daily Website:0101409952

Spot the differencesCan you spot the 11 differences between these pictures?

ANGUSAPPARITIONSBANQUOBIRNAM WOODBLOODCAITHNESSCAPTAINCASTLECAULDRONCAWDORCOLMEKILLCONSCIENCECUMBERLANDDAGGERDOCTORDONALBAINDUNCANDUNSINANEENGLANDFLEANCEGENTLEWOMANGLAMISGUILTHEATHHECATE

INVERNESSIRELANDLADY MACBETHLADY MACDUFFLENNOXMACBETHMADNESSMALCOLMMENTEITHMURDERERSNORWAYPORTERPROPHECYQUEENREGICIDEROSSSCONESCOTLANDSEYTONSIWARDSLEEPWALKINGSOLILOQUYTHANEWEIRD SISTERS

SOLUTION:By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes

GAMES

DINING OUT IN TOWN

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Wake up to The Gazette

Shakespeare: MacbethFind and circle all of the words relating to Macbeth that are hid-den in the grid. The remaining letters spell a secret message - aquotation from Macbeth.

Lounging around the Asian way

ENJOY the Asian food concept at the CityStarsInterContinental Lounge. The Lounge is a unique andimpressive air-conditioned outdoor outlet and nightspot offering tantalising flavours, along withMediterranean snacks and tapas, as well as an exten-sive selection of cocktails and wines, all with live DJmusic.

Besides the Lounge, the InterContinental CitystarsHotel also offers all kinds of restaurants, bars, coffeeshops, a casino, health clubs and swimming pools. It’slocated right next door to Stars Centre, the largestretail and leisure complex in the Middle East.

The restaurants include the Maestro Italian restau-rant for Italian Cuisine and the Shogun Japaneserestaurant for Sushi Teppanyaki and Sashimi.

If you fancy something from the Levant, then don’tmiss out on the Fayruz Lebanese restaurant whereyou can discover the wonderful taste of Lebanesecuisine.

HANGING AROUNDAUC’s Book Fair

THE American University in Cairo’s(AUC) Holiday Book Fair Week startstomorrow and runs till December 10 from10am to 6pm daily at the AUC Pressbookstores in Downtown, Zamalek andthe New Cairo Campus. The HolidayBook Fair Week features new publica-tions, gift books and bargain books.

Japanese traditionalart at the Opera

A JAPANESE traditional arts concert isbeing held in the Main Hall, Cairo OperaHouse, (2739-0144 – 2390-7707), tonightat 8:00.

Sawy activities

SAWY Cultural Wheel, end of 26 July St.,Zamalek, is holding a ceremony to com-memorate children’s literature pioneerKamel el-Kelany, who died fifty yearsago. The ceremony will take place in theWord Hall at 6pm.

The Earth Hall, meanwhile, is hosting aplastic arts exhibition entitled 'BetweenDoubt and Uncertainty’, by artist IslamMohamed. The exhibition runs untilDecember 9 and is open from 9am to 8pmdaily.

Paper voyage atBibliotheca Alexandrina

THE Great Hall of BibliothecaAlexandrina will be the venue for a con-cert by Rezodanse Centre tonight at8:00.

The Multipurpose Hall is hosting anexhibition entitled 'The Paper Voyage'.The exhibition displays paper throughhistory and includes a workshop aboutpaper manufacturing. It's open from11am to 7pm.

The end of the worldis nigh!

NEVER before has a date in history beenso significant to so many cultures, reli-gions, scientists and governments. A glob-al cataclysm brings an end to the worldand tells of the heroic struggle of the sur-vivors. The new Hollywood production2012 gives you an idea what the end ofthe world might look like. The movie2012 is now showing at the OdeonCinema (02-2575-8797).

Youssra el-Sharkawy

PRIMITIVE man lived in his cave. Likehumans today, he was sensitive and had feel-ings, although he didn’t always know how toexpress himself. But he was able to dosketches with the theme of the human body.

Lateron, the Pharaohs,Romans and peoples of the other greatempires were all interested in the sametheme. Ancient temples and palaces all havepaintings of the human body on their walls.

And now, in December 2009, ‘Il CorpusHomanus’ (The Human Body) is the themeof an exhibition being held in Behler’sMansion in Zamalek.

"The human body has been a rich source ofinspiration for artists since the dawn of time,starting with prehistoric rock art. Then therewas Ancient Egyptian Art, followed by the artof many different civilisations and cultures –Coptic, Persian, Far Eastern, European andmany more. All of this has had an influence oncontemporary artists," says Waleed Abdel-Khalek, the founder of Al-Masar Gallery.

This exhibition features works by excep-tional artists, which take the audience by

storm. The human body, this exhibition'stheme, is by no means new, but what is newis the different, contemporary style, neverseen before in Egypt.

The featured artists all have great vision,inspired by their Egyptian heritage, thePharaohs of Ancient Egypt.

"I believe that even Islamic calligraphyhas a close connection with the human body.The way the words and letters move hassomething to do with the human form. That'swhy we’ve also got Arabic calligraphy in theexhibition," Abdel-Khalek explains.

Capitalising on 20 years of experience incurating and promoting modern and contem-porary Egyptian art, Abdel-Khalek has trans-formed this turn-of-the-last-century spaceinto a unique exhibition venue.

"The gallery is located in the famousBehler’s Mansion in the heart of Zamalek, adistrict much loved by Cairo’s literati, as it’shome to a wealth of bookstores, theatres, finearts and music universities, the Opera House,the Cairo Library and the National Museumof Modern Arts," he adds.

Seven artists are participating in Al-Masar's 12th exhibition, ‘Il CorpusHomanus’. "Working with artists makes youlearn more about them and their works. Sothe first thing I do is to think of an idea, thenabout the artist who will suit this idea,"stresses Abdel-Khalek, who has held manyexhibitions in Egypt and abroad.

The seven artists

Ibrahim el-Dessouqi was born in 1969 inCairo, where he still lives and works. The artistis a painter with a highly condensed style inportraiture, still-life painting and landscape.

Essam Darwish was born in 1970 in Cairo.He holds a PhD in art, specialising in sculp-ture, and is one of the most prominent andpromising names in this field.

His presence has graced many exhibitions,with his statues of Taha Hussein and SalehSelim, the Egyptian football star, holdingpride of place. The human body has alwaysbeen one of Darwish’s inspirations.

Sami Abul Azm, born in 1967 in Cairo,graduated from the Faculty of Fine Art. He is

a member of the Fine Art Artists' Associationand has participated in many group exhibi-tions nationwide.

Nermin Hammam is a young woman whohas studied fine arts and filmmaking. Herphotographic works are exceptional.'

Haytham Nawar was born in 1978 in el-Gharbia Governorate in the Delta. Nawar, afine arts graduate, specialising in printmak-ing, is now working on a Master’s in mediaarts in Zurich.

Karim el-Quraiti, born 1982 in Cairo,graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, spe-cialising in painting. El-Quraiti has partici-pated in several group exhibitions nation-wide.

Sameh Ismail, born in 1974, can best bedescribed as a master of calligraphy on canvas.

"Al-Masar Gallery holds exhibitionswhich define contemporary Egyptian art,"says Abdel-Khalek proudly.

The exhibition ‘IlCorpus Homanus’, being held in Al-MasarGallery of Contemporary Art, Behler'sMansion, 157B, 26 July St., ground floor,side entrance, Zamalek (02-2736-8537), isopen daily from 11am till 9pm except today.It runs until next Monday.

A very human exhibition

Ihab Shaarawy

THIS month the Netherlands-FlemishInstitute in Cairo is organising two importantcinematic events. The first will be the screen-ing of the Dutch movie As a Fly Drawn to theFlame, by the Dutch director Barbara Hanlo.

The 67-minutes film will be screened onDecember 8 at 6:30pm at Netherlands-FlemishInstitute, Dr Mahmoud Azmi St., Zamalek.

The movie explores the life of the excep-tional 19th century DutchwomanAlexandrine Tinne, an affluent young lady

who flew in the face of all societal conven-tion by setting off for the deserts of Africa.

Through archival photographs, the filmconstructs a portrait of this enthusiastic trav-eller, who was the first European woman toattempt to cross the Sahara. Tragically, herincredible life was cut short when she wasmurdered by robbers at the age of only 35.

The director will introduce the film andshe will take questions from the audience.

The film ‘As a Fly Drawn to the Flame’ ismade from the perspective of one who stayedat home, and who, having read Alexandrine’s

letters, imagines what happened.Photography dictates the form of the film.

The second event will take place onDecember 22, when the Netherlands-FlemishInstitute will organise a screening of one-minute films in co-operation with the OneMinutes Belgian Open Film Festival.

This novel genre consists of films of exact-ly 60 seconds.

A selection of one-minute movies in dif-ferent categories (art, narrative, documen-tary, animation, self-portrait, visual effects)will be screened, starting at 6:30pm.

Dutch and Belgian treats

‘‘IIll CCoorrppuuss HHoommaannuuss’’:: A painting entitled Nostalgia by Sami Abou el-Azm (L) and threeworks by Ibrahim el-Dessouqi: Living Cairo (R), Sleeping in Green (bottom L) and Portrait inYellow (bottom R).

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A scene from 2012

Cairo:Museum and Restaurants Taj Al SultanRoyal flavours of Arabia and India. 1, Al-Azhar square,Al-Hussein, Cairo. Tel: 27877273-27877275

Koshary Abou TarekServes koshary, one of Egypt’s main dishes. 16, MaaroufSt., Champollion, downtown Cairo. Tel.: 2576-1911 –2577-5935. www.aboutarek.com

Rainforest CaféAn American theme restaurant with an amazing inter-national menu that serves all ages and different tastes.City Stars Centre, 5th floor. Tel: 2480-2560 / 2480-2561.

MassalaAuthentic Indian cuisine prepared by Indian chefs.Mohamed Ebeid St., off Nozha St., Heliopolis. Tel: 2690-6453 - 2690-6457.

Il Pennello CaféServes Italian dishes. Heliopolis: 2241-7603.Mohandiseen: 3303-8696.

CondettiItalian international restaurant 10, Road No. 82 off RoadNo. 6 – Maadi Tel: 2359 2440.

Torii Japanese Restaurant Serving nutritious sushi, sashi-miand noodle dishes Opendaily for lunch & dinner Cairo Marriott Hotel & OmarKhayyam Casino. Tel: 2739-4631.

Alexandria:AthineosOne of the oldest patisseries in Alexandria, featuringGreek food. Tel.: (03) 486-8131- (03) 486-0421.

DelicesServes pastries and cakes.Tel.: (03) 482-1432 - 481-5460.

Christina’sDelightful Germa n-style restaurant with a small, cozy gar-den. Tel.: (03) 433-2014.