Through a multifaceted and often painstaking process merging the past with the present, reality with the ideal image of the city, and driven by an inner need to preserve cultural aspects that are fading, Farida El Gazzar pays homage to the features which, for her, shape the contemporary identity not only of Alexandria but of Egypt as well. The transformation of the landscape through successive rows of uniform red brick building complexes, the details of a plant in her grandmother’s apartment, a policeman standing guard at a hotel, four small trees in a park that are painted with the colors of the Egyptian flag after the fall of Mubarak’s regime, details of antique furniture in her aunt’s home, the Art Deco entrance of a house where a friend of hers lives, these are some of the “banal”, as she describes them, elements and objects that catch her attention and become the protagonists in her works.
Aside from the interlacing of collective and personal memory, the artist examines social and cultural identity through the multifaceted architectural character of the city. In the “Vitrines” series, particular emphasis is given to the window displays of old shops – such as those selling clothing or shoes – in the center of the city. In an urban landscape that is constantly changing, these small shops survive, preserving their special character. This idea of “resistance” is found throughout the work of Farida El Gazzar. A different portrayal of the meaning of timelessness is present in the paintings and gold, which she uses successfully in order to emphasize the earth colors of the landscape, the light, dust and sand. At the same time, gold is used allegorically to symbolize power and glory, with which El Gazzar clothes the landscapes and scenes of daily life in the cities. There is also a strong element of kitsch. Often, with a strong sense of irony, the artist lends a monumental character to common small objects by depicting them outside of their natural environment, against a gold background.
The portrait of urban life that is depicted in the works of Farida El Gazzar, with a particular commitment as an alter ego, is at the same time an x-ray of the human condition where solemnity goes hand in hand with lightness and glory co-exists with kitsch.