Masks, 2023

Masks (2022), Glazed ceramic, oil paint, Variable dimensions


 

I am Hymns of the New Temples, 2023

Shawky's film is based on the search for a visual representation of this permeability, this transmission. The prelude is certainly the story of the emergence of the mythological cosmos, or mankind, with the narrative elements pointing to its transcultural origin. The film’s storyline imperceptibly draws us in, as we follow the woes of humankind, the endless cycle of life and death, the merciful and vengeful gods dichotomy: myths turn into beliefs, only to become forgotten realities centuries later, fictions that we still nonetheless rely on to explain the world around us. As in a Greek tragedy, the final scene of the film prophesies human dystopia and the eternity of the gods, the symbolic pillars of antiquities cultures. The characters, marionettes-like and imperfectly human, evolve in a hybrid state, their final song become emblematic of the sins of new generations, as children's voices take over, literally heralding the future.

I am Hymns of the New Temples (2023), 4k video, sound, color, 57 minutes 43 seconds, Edition 7 + 2 AP, Excerpt
Commissioned by Pompeii Archaeological Park as part of Pompeii Commitment. Archeological Matters (Collection). Winner of the public notice PAC 2020 - promoted by Direzione Generale Creatività Contemporanea of Ministero della Cultura