Lot 332: WAEL SHAWKY

THE CAVE: AMSTERDAM

Beta filmtape (12 minutes, 43 seconds)

Executed in 2005, this work is number 4 from an edition of 5, plus 2 artist's proofs.

New York, Queens Museum of Art, Tarjama/Translation, 2009, illustration of another example

Arguably the most captivating aspect of Wael Shawky's work is the humour and irony with which he presents issues of great importance. The artist addresses the paradoxical condition of the young Arab with a consummate wit, highlighting the inconsistencies of the norm within the modern Middle East.

Throughout his work Shawky broaches such major concerns as the effect of globalisation on the region, the role of religion in its development, the dichotomy between rural and urban, educated and uneducated, the sense of displacement and the acute identity issues of Arab youth. Essentially all this indicates a culture in transition, and it is this very transition, with its inherent contradictions, that Shawky tackles.

Shawky's video, The Cave, was produced in three different cities, Istanbul, Hamburg and Amsterdam, but was initially conceived of in Istanbul for the eponymous Biennial of 2005. The video shows Shawky in smart western dress declaiming The Cave verse from memory in a loud and confident tone, within the somewhat incongruous setting of a supermarket. The camera tracks him, trained on his intense gaze, as he wanders through the aisles of the shop. Bright lights make the experience clinically austere, tins of food and cans of juice in bright colours flow past, cereal packets, the chiller-cabinets and so on. The setting is clean and modern and totally characterless. The place could be anywhere. A point further highlighted by the triumvirate of countries, and cultures, in which it was filmed.

The verse which Shawky recites has a unique place in Islamic tradition, it is said that whoever memorises the first ten verses of the chapter would be secure against evil, that it will illuminate him and keep him safe for several days. It is a deeply pious verse. This juxtaposition of one of the Qur'ans holiest verses, with a totally mundane consumerist haven is simultaneously both incisive andcomical.

In this unusual combination of the occident and the orient, religious and secular, the artist alludes to the effect of globalisation and westernisation on local cultures, the impact of consumerism, of mass-marketing and branding. He points out the anaesthetization of these local cultures, and systems; yet he also presents a bridge across religions and cultures, a positive unification of the modern world and all its peoples.

The Cave is a powerful work, opening an international dialogue that is not confined to the Middle East.