Lot 116: Khaled Hafez (Egyptian, b. 1963)

Khaled Hafez (Egyptian, b. 1963)
Nut and the Flying Angel
acrylic on collage on canvas
39 x 58¾in. (99 x 149cm.)
Painted in 2006-2007

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, CAIRO
This lot offered for sale is subject to a 5% import duty on the importation value levied at the time of collection/shipment within the UAE.
'I link imagery of the ancient iconography with déjà-vu contemporary elements, hence the use of Anubis (God of the underworld) and Batman, Bastet (Goddess of domestication) and Cat-woman; the icons are manipulated to insinuate metamorphosis; I believe that we are at a point in history where there is cultural recycling: visual, conceptual, beliefs among other aspects.' (Khaled Hafez)

Khaled Hafez's work shows his fascination with superheroes ancient and modern. The ancient are the animal-headed gods of Pharaonic Egypt, jackal-headed Anubis, Sekhmet the cat-goddess, and Nut the sky-goddess, whose elongated curving body traces the celestial sphere. The modern include Batman and Catwoman- with their obvious similarities to the animal-headed ancient gods, and superheroes from real-life, the impossibly beautiful models that grace advertisements and fashion magazines. Thus Hafez explores idolization old and new, East and West. Today's superheroes might be flesh and blood, but their unattainable perfection is no less than those of the gods of the past.