Artist Statement
In this fast changing world, we all want to live at a faster pace.
Life continues at a constant steady speed while, in contrast, we
are in a continual haste. It seems to me we rush onward, all the
while facing an increased amount of offensive obstacles. I am speaking
from the universal point of view. Although the political gap widen
and the borders keep us apart; the medias and the new mediums bring
us all closer to face the catastrophes, the epidemics and the genocides.
Indeed, today frontiers have become blurred .Being of diverse background
, I see clearly the ridicule of our blindness. It seems obvious,
that all individuals of today are more or less the result of a cultural
and racial collages. Hence, I am Egyptian, Slovenian, American and
obviously French. Relatively, like many others, I am a cumulous
of cultures as a new 'Individual'.
At this point we must try to define the term: individuality and
then associate it to ones’ actions and behaviors. To me there
is a correlation between my cultural heritage and its implication
in light of a current understanding of my 'history’, and it
is as important as my standing in a society. By this, I understand
my status as a "hereditary product" and my generation's
accomplishment achieved by line of family composites, environments,
circumstances, hazards, etc...All these elements make up my identity.
In contradiction, without understanding the 'individuality' of the
deeper self of the artist, an excess of superficial attention is
always given to the artist background in order to understanding
his/her works in their context.
The idea is to "use" my stereotypical physical attributes
in any and all spatial as well as geographic associations and to
investigate the reactions of the viewer, basically deceiving the
audiences.
To achieve this goal, I will be loosing, researching, reassembling
and reinventing a "new” cultural 'identity ' as a platform
for expression. My aim is to give the viewer an opportunity to realize
how ridicule is his/her attempt to "figure out” the artists'
true' self.
I intend to use any political context in any geographical space,
and exploit them as a setting within its ephemeral existence. I
hope to orchestrate situations using "living portraits"
that live within these contexts to reflect a popular response. I
hope to show that the new globally fused culture is in a constant
mutation. My presence as an artist has for function to absorb culture;
and extract unnoticed or forgotten taboo and traits ultimately,
presenting the nude ironies hidden within society.
These parallels exist within all cultures and all classes in all
lands thus universal. Like a "play on words”, they are
may be only obvious to an insider or just to the occasional outsider.
.
As a performer, whether accpeted or not, I am a citizen of the world
and my home is anywhere andeverywhere on this planet; we call Earth.
Indeed living in different parts of the world just for a limited
times, within different communities, gives me a clear insight of
the surrounding society, merely by the population’s presumption
of where I come from: my origins.
Growing up I have learned to adopt my physical characteristic traits
that may not necessarily give people an accurate idea of where I
am from, but helps me understand how I am perceived by strangers.
As the performer, I assume all associations with my physical appearance
the roles of these populations. The past maybe quickly forgotten
by some, but I think it important for the future, of the sake of
our kind, that a sense of unity is forged.
Being of a diversity of backgrounds, I feel a frustration when I
see populations torn apart, while we allonce shared the same lands,
sunsets or sunrises. I am looking to record a living testimony of
these lands and question the reasons of their survival, through
a cultural dialogue of symbols. Using a wide variety of materials
and human emotions, I hope to convince that we are all one and the
same.
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