New book by Laura El-Tantawy captures the impact of the Egyptian revolution on daily life

A tear trickles down a teenager’s cheeks. As a single photograph, it’s emotional enough. But Laura El-Tantawy’s profound text that accompanies her powerful image makes it heartbreaking.

Because, she explains, Reda Abdelaziz Mohamed isn’t crying at all. His left eye constantly weeps from injuries sustained when he was shot in Cairo while kneeling over the dead body of a protester.

A second photograph shows his mangled right eye, which is beyond repair. “It was difficult to take these photographs in 2011 – meeting these people felt like aggravating their wounds,” says el-Tantawy. “Now, it’s almost unbearable to look at them. The revolution has impacted Reda’s life forever.” The photograph of Mohamed is just one of a series of outstanding images taken by El-Tantawy, who was born in England to Egyptian parents in 1980 and grew up between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

When she first returned to Egypt in 2005, the idea was to explore her own conflicted identity and work on a book that would chronicle daily life in Egypt. But in 2011, events in Tahrir Square took over and the project became one of the most arresting photography books of recent times.

In the Shadow of the Pyramids was self-published last year. Its combination of the personal and the political caught the eye of Time magazine and more recently earned the book a nomination for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, to be awarded on June 2.

El-Tantawy understands that not everybody shares the same politics about the events before, during and after Tahrir Square.

But the brilliance of In the Shadow of the Pyramids is that it doesn't glorify or fall into polemic. These are not aggressive, in-your-face images. Instead, she says it marks how the revolution affected upon "normal, individual people who wanted dignity, respect and a place in their country … farmers, plumbers, construction workers."

“The revolution changed the narrative of the book,” she admits, “and it did become more about making sure these everyday people had their place in history, that their stories could be told.”

El-Tantawy says the striking imagery comes from taking a detached approach, both emotionally and professionally, to her work.

“I took a lot of pictures from above, and it felt like I was perched on a cloud,” she says.

“It gave me a funny feeling in my stomach, it was so surreal – and it meant the images ended up being quite impressionistic.”

This blurring of the line between personal and documentary photography also comes through in the old family snaps that are dotted throughout the book, adding an extra layer of poignancy and history – particularly when El-Tantawy writes “the home of your memories is not reflected in reality”.

They might not be the most perfectly composed shots – and El-Tantawy admits that she had to work hard to convince her family to use them, not least because her mother did not cover her hair at that time.

“But these delicate, precious and intimate photographs were really important to the book,” she says. Happily, she won her family round.

And yet the Deutsche Börse nomination has undoubtedly changed the work from something intensely personal about the country she loves into something that people from around the world are now engaging with. Mohamed was just someone she met. But now he’s a symbol.

“My book is not hopeful, I know that,” she says. “But there has to be hope for a better Egypt. It might take a few years to get there, that’s all.”

• In the Shadow of the Pyramids is presently sold out. To see images from the book visit www.lauraeltantawy.com

artslife@thenational.ae

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The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X

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Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo

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Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

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Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

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Analysis

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THE SPECS

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The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800

 Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder 

Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm

 Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm

 Transmission: Eight-speed CVT

 Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km

Meydan race card

6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

DMZ facts

The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.

Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South