Lot 112: Chant Avedissian , Egyptian B. 1951 Women's Rights handcoloured stencil on cardboard

signed handcoloured stencil on cardboard

measurements note 249.5 by 151cm.; 98 by 59 1/2 in.

Copenhagen, Nicolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Ekbatana?, 2000
Stuttgart, Ifa Galerie; Bonn, Ifa Galerie; Berlin, Ifa Galerie, Love Affairs, 2003-2004

Rose Issa, Ed., Chant Avedissian-Cairo Stencils, London 2006, p. 72, illustrated in colour

Private Collection, London

Executed in 1995-1996.
In his intricate stencilled paintings, Chant Avedissian fuses symbols taken from ancient Egypt like Pharaoh Hieroglyphics and dynastic monuments with pictures of national heroes, admired politicians, and popular singers and actors. These pictures are based on images from mass media of the 1950s, a decade that witnessed a socio-cultural reawakening which was imbued with pan-Arab sentiments and heightened nationalistic feelings. Avedissian's concern for the disappearance of Egypt's rich heritage at the outbreak of the first Gulf War motivated him to explore the subjects of memory, history, imagery and self-representation in Egyptian culture. Women's Rights is a stencil painting that traces the evolution of the independence movement in the Arab World with an emphasis on Egypt; its outline of this movement, which begins at the top and progresses downwards, focuses on the role of women in national liberation. At the top is a sketch that tells the story of Suleiman Al Halabi (1777-1800), a Syrian student responsible for the assassination of the French General Jean Baptiste Kléber in Egypt; Al Halabi was sent by the Ottomans to kill Kléber in exchange for his father's freedom. Avedissian then proceeds to illustrate a map of the Arab World with the words Al Umma Al Arabia (The Arab Peoples) written across it. Three military officers can be seen stretched out on the ground nearby with their guns aimed at a tank that has the word Isti'mar (Colonialism) stencilled on it. The tank is ablaze; it has been defeated. Both the image of the tank and the map refer to the Arab resistance movement against European colonialism. But the fighter planes that are scattered across the canvas are a reminder of the continuation of imperial aggression despite the official end of the colonial age.
Chant Avedissian also depicts a boat which was sunk by the Egyptians during the Suez Canal Crisis. The Suez Canal, an initiative undertaken by the Ottomans in Egypt and an emblem of foreign rule, remained under British control until Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser nationalized it in 1956. The nationalization of the Suez Canal led to a confrontation between British, French, Israeli, and Egyptian forces. During the Suez Canal Crisis, Nasser sank 40 ships, of which the depicted ship is one, effectively blocking the Canal that was thereafter closed until 1957. Chant Avedissian also delineates the episode of the sinking of the Champolion ship. This ship was owned by Napoleon and was repeatedly used to import treasures of Ancient Egypt into Europe. The ship and its sinking are here emblems of imperial rule and of its defeat respectively. Below the ship are the men responsible for this success, the Naval Forces. Chant Avedissian thereafter introduces the first woman into the painting; this woman occupies the centre of the work's composition. A tower of strength, she steadily and proudly holds her gun, fighting side by side with her fellow brothers who make up Quwatana al Arabia (Our Arab Forces). This woman is Al Fatat al Arabia (The Arab Girl). Surrounded by red, the colour of blood, she is brave and self-sacrificing - she gives of herself. . A second woman sits flanked by two portraits of military men. She is Mrs. Suad Labeeb, commended mother of two sons who fought during the 1973 war. At the bottom of the painting and the crux on which all of this movement rests are the Angels of Mercy, a troop of gentle yet firm looking nurses.
Overall, Chant Avedissian's Women's Rights nostalgically conveys the mood of pan-Arabism and nationalism that prevailed in the Arab World in the late 1960s, with Egypt at its centre; it does so, for instance, through the proud tone of the text that it employs as well as the outline of the map of Egypt that is repeatedly stencilled throughout its narrative of the Arab struggle for independence. Avedissian's emphasis on the role of women can be inferred from not only his references to particular females or female icons but from his use of symbolism as well. Over and over again, the artist utilizes the image of a spider which may stand for Neith, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of War, the mother goddess and a nurse. Neith is associated with hunting and creation and is sometimes symbolized by the moon. A moon appears once in Avedissian's painting as well; it illuminates the sky of The Arab Girl. Thus, in Women's Rights, Avedissian seems to be speaking of the noticed and unnoticed contributions made by women in war, the fight for independence, and the formation of the nation.