Memory Embodied: The Downtown Exhibit Reconceptualising Memory

‘Memory Embodied’ is an interdisciplinary multimedia exhibition bringing together artists, researchers, and undergraduate students to Falaki Gallery at AUC Tahrir Cultural Center. There, they have been invited to dive into the abstract and explore the concepts of memory, and the many manifestations it has across cultures, places and souls.

Pieces by 10 local and regional artists have taken over the gallery’s walls, showcasing each of their personal perspectives of memory through a range of mediums, including painting, photography, video, or audio installations. Every corner houses a different piece, whether it’s an attempt at remembering a person through Egyptian artist Walaa Yassien’s photo series, or holding on to the memory of a nation through a video installation by Lebanese artist Tarek Chemaly.  

‘Narjis’, an ongoing photo project by Yassien, depicts her personal journey to reconnect with her grandmother after she passed away. Her process, project notes, and search for memories through photography eventually found their way to the gallery walls, simultaneously serving as the draft notes for her artwork, and as the artwork itself.

‘Traces of a Bodily Encounter’ by Egyptian artist Azza Ezzat uses body painting to challenge notions of bodily autonomy and intimacy. Her body literally and figuratively guides her canvas. The dark wall-sized canvas seems messy and abstract at first, yet eventually, through strokes, curves, and depths, Exxat challenges her body as both a vehicle and a vessel for her message. 

“Artists tend to gravitate towards the body because it’s tangible and intimate,” Azima Salama, a curator for the exhibition, tells CairoScene. “It's very accessible to create art about the body and explore concepts through the body as a lens, especially because memories are so intangible,” 

Through a video installation titled ‘Reverse Imagining a Futile Resistance’, Lebanese artist Tarek Chemaly uses a variety of media archives and pop cultural elements to construct his own narrative on Lebanon. Although Chemaly himself was not present at the exhibition, his displayed piece made its way to Cairo to a mostly Egyptian audience, who found themselves relating to his homage to his homeland. “The exhibition changed the way I relate to the ‘homeland’ as a concept,” curator Iman Afify tells CairoScene. “Because, in a sense, our bodies are our homelands. They carry our memories wherever we go.”

With an emphasis on the intersection between personal and collective memories, the ‘Memory Embodied’ exhibition invited gallery visitors to share their own thoughts and memories on an interactive wall. Since the opening night, the wall has become a space for doodles, anecdotes, illustrations, statements and questions felt and raised during their visit. 

“Everyone I’ve spoken to about the exhibition opened up to me about a real personal connection that they felt, people felt nostalgic about memories they’ve never experienced,” Walid Zarrad, project head and anthropology undergraduate student at AUC, says. “That’s how we knew the exhibit did what it was supposed to do.”

The exhibition is led and organized by the American University in Cairo’s Anthropology, Sociology, and Egyptology Association and supported by the Department of Sociology, Egyptology and Anthropology, and through AUC’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Grant.

‘Memory Embodied’ is open to visitors until December 15th.