Lot 583: f - Mohamed Abla , Egyptian B. 1953 Under the Bridge On a Friday acrylic on canvas

signed and dated 2004 acrylic on canvas

measurements note 135.3 by 150.5cm.; 53 1/4 by 59 1/4 in.

Mohamed Abla's work is a tribute to Egypt, the joyous hustle and bustle of Cairo, the dirt, noise and pollution the sheer weight of humanity that brings such life to the city. In exploring the Egyptian identity, Abla explores his own. He says of himself that his "Egyptian roots, are like home, or a return to base. They allow me to reach further without fear of losing myself" (Liliane Karnouk, Modern Egyptian Art 1910-2003, American University in Cairo Press, Cairo and New York, 2005, p.176). As a young artist, Abla's works were infused with a boundless optimism, a cheeriness that precluded even a nod to the darker side of life. Bright colours and two dimensional figures drawn from Pharaonic times dominated his work. As both he and his style matured, Abla's works took on a bleaker cast. In The Nile Bed, Abla embeds sinister found objects such as crippled dolls, used syringes, chemical bottles and animal carcasses in slabs of mud. Completed in 1992, the artist explores the nature of Cairene society, its role in the destruction of the ecosystem, its attitudes to life, death and accountability that allow it to be so dismissive of its surroundings. He holds a mirror up to his society and forces it to contemplate its actions, even if it does not actively address it. The current work comes at a later period when Abla's outlook had changed; it is arguably a more even-handed representation of the society. Here the easy lines, sense of movement and bright colours bring to mind the charged atmosphere of Cairo's streets, yet simultaneously the figures appear isolated, their faces blank as they go about their business. In this, Abla laments the perceived loss of a readiness to laugh and interact that so characterised the society of his youth (Kunsthaus Hohmann, Mohamed Abla: Life as an Artwork, p.12). Abla truly captures the essence of Egypt, and what it is to be an Egyptian, but his message of accountability and the fragility of life is equally relevant in any society.