{"id":549,"date":"2021-05-14T22:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T22:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/2021\/05\/walls-graffiti-and-youth-culture-in-libya-and-tunisia\/"},"modified":"2021-05-14T22:05:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T22:05:00","slug":"walls-graffiti-and-youth-culture-in-libya-and-tunisia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldmarkaz\/walls-graffiti-and-youth-culture-in-libya-and-tunisia\/","title":{"rendered":"Walls, Graffiti and Youth Culture in Egypt, Libya & Tunisia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Graffiti
Graffiti in Tripoli, Libya (all images courtesy Claudia Wiens<\/a>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Photography and text by Claudia Wiens<\/h4>\n

From early 2011 till the end of 2014, I documented urban transformation as a result of the political uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. These photos are part of my long-term project about post-revolution art and artists in these three countries. While documenting the lives and work of artists, I realized that they often reacted to (or rather their art responded to) changes in the urban landscape, including new fences and walls. Some of them were actually adding themselves to these changes with their graffiti and murals. A sort of ongoing urban<\/em> dialogue between artists, protesters and authorities continues to fascinate both native and international observers. “Art is the watchdog of democracy,” someone once said to me. No doubt politics are a source of inspiration.<\/p>\n

During the uprising in Egypt, I spent much time with friends in Tahrir Square witnessing the unbelievable creativity of ordinary citizens and artists, expressing their dislike for Mubarak and his government. The sudden political change set lots of creative potential free and people gained a new freedom of opinion, or rather a newly-discovered courage to voice opinion, and this led to a wild creative urge in all three countries. At the beginning, it was often straightforward statements painted on walls and posters, such as graffiti discrediting the respective regimes, commemorating \u2018martyrs’ and expressing demands. Then creative inventories of what happened followed, like displaying homemade Molotov-cocktails in a small exhibition at a youth center in Meknessi, Tunisia \u2014 one of the first sites of the Jasmeen Revolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gradually, the art evolved into something broader, more reflective and often more daring. Many walls turned into an ever-changing visual history book of murals reacting to constantly changing political events. The art condemned state violence, religious extremism and corruption or warned of the new dangers of rule by the military.<\/p>\n

The collages show quickly changing cityscapes: graffiti that appears and then often disappears again; relicts of the revolution like burned out buildings or cars; flags waving a newly discovered national pride; and newly erected walls and barbwire by the authorities. I used a panoramic Lomo film camera in order to transport the feeling of all is in flux, transient\/transitory\/short-lived and changes unpredictably all the time. The graininess and imperfection of an analogue Lomo seems to me a fitting way to transport this quite well. As there were so many contradicting, paradoxical and also amusing things happening at the same time, almost like in parallel universes and cannot be caught in single photos I merged two images that either contradict or complement each other. It is my interpretation of the complex events, action and reaction of the various players.<\/p>\n

Cairo, Egypt<\/p>\n