(ARISE magazine, issue 13) Inspired by the Jasmine Revolution that swept North Africa earlier this year, artists around the world have been creating works of resistance. Responses range from Soviet-style graphic posters, as seen on Flickr, to a dedicated exhibition at Cairo’s Safarkhan gallery entitled To Egypt With Love. Egyptian artist/designer Marwan Shahin created an image entitled The Dictator after participating in the revolution: “I was so inspired by what was happening. After the crisis and Mubarak stepped down I created another piece called The 2Vth.I was told it was such a powerful image, I took time to graffiti it on a wall here in Alexandria.”
Online creative platform African Digital Art (ADA) compiled a gallery of graphic art inspired by the uprisings using submissions from its own creative community. Editor Jepchumba explained: “The Egyptian revolution was all over the news, all over the world, so it was no surprise to see that being reflected in artists’ creative portfolios. This was an important thing for us to show at ADA.”
CARINYA SHARPLES 