Karim El Hayawan
Overview
"And Live...” Immersed in the built environment both by passion and profession, El Hayawan observes and addresses schism like cracks in buildings that exist on all levels of the social spectrum. from slums and informal housing to high- end developments and historical structures. Cracks indifferent to social status, indifferent to grand hope or little power. Yet in their own way allowing infiltrated light and acting as bleak chasms voicing expression. Pairing with artist Mariam Faried who in her own realm stitches and mends all photographs in a single installation reading “And Live”. Architectural incisions become the uniting factor reflecting predominant signs and metaphors of sociopolitical essence. *a few symbolic causes of architectural cracks: Uneven distribution of load. (wide variation in stress) - Foundation failure - Inherent defects - Chemical reactions - Decay of the building fabric - Ground movement or settlement - Contraction due to drop of temperature.
Born
Education
Karim El Hayawan is a Cairo-based visual artist and interior architect. After founding Design Point Studio in Cairo in 2002, Karim began to develop his photography under the mentorship of Alaa Abdel Naby of Reuters. El Hayawan is continuously inspired by his hometown Cairo, relentlessly seeking visual vocabulary that defines the complexities of the ever-expanding urban metropolis. Ultimately, photography serves as his narrative tool to reveal commonalities in collective experiences of life, with key theme of his work being the concept of universal metaphors. His work has been exhibited at the “Contemporary Arab Photography Biennale” at the Institut Du Monde Arabe in Paris, The Grid Cape Town Biennale in South Africa, the Biennale in Cairo titled “Something Else”, Abu Dhabi Art at Hafez Gallery, Al-Ahram’s Salon for Fine Arts and Darb1718 in Cairo, in addition to the Egyptian pavilion at Dak’art Biennale. His work has been featured in numerous publications throughout the region. El Hayawan is the founder of Cairo Saturday Walks, an initiative that invites participants to explore different neighborhoods in Egypt through the activity of street photography, with proceeds of an annual group show, going back to one of the frequently visited areas.
