'Wael Shawky: Dry Culture Wet Culture' at M Leuven, Belgium

22 March 2022

Wael Shawky's major new exhibition at M Leuven in Leuven, Belgium presents various series of work from the past 25 years that are deeply rooted in the artist's observations of social change in his native Egypt and the Middle East.

Shawky spent many childhood years in Alexandria, Egypt and Mecca, Saudi Arabia where he witnessed the transition from a nomadic society to a modernised one. Social change remains central to his art, in particular the ways in which this change intertwines with the themes of identity, religion, politics and history.

'Dry Culture Wet culture' features a chapter from the artist's Cabaret Crusades film series, as well as drawing, woodcuts, marionettes and two new site-specific installations. The first, The Gulf Camp project: The Wall #2, is a project that explores the history of the Arabian peninsula from the 17th century onwards. Including a wall covered in black graphite on which cloths have been stretched out recalling Bedouin tents, it combines a traditional nomadic form of society with a contemporary, industrialised one. The second was made especially for M Leuven, and is based on Shawky's interest in societies and local traditions. The museum hall, with a panoramic view of the city of Leuven, was the starting point for The Gulf Camp Project: Drama, a large installation that embraces scenes of urbanity, serving as a bookend to the exhibition.

The exhibition continues through 28 August 2022. Find further information via M Leuven.

Installation view of Wael Shawky, The Gulf Camp Project: Drama at M Leuven, 11 March – 28 August 2022 © Wael Shawky, courtesy M Leuven. Photography by Dirk Pauwels.