Evaluator Shaima Dief (Artist)

Since I initiated my artistic career, I have been overwhelmed by my gender identity; I upgraded the idea of metamorphoses to free my creatures from the fetters of grotesque forms. Nor did I limit the metamorphosed bodies to simple optical rendering. Contrary to my vision, my colleagues would be tempted to restrict their themes to human body to conveniently produce a variety of human and animal representations. My project turns an important chapter in my artistic experiment. First I experimented with direct themes, the most popular of which were exhibited in the Youth Salon. In these works, series of paintings came up with half-naked females, which stirred up heated debates by critics interested in contemporary generation of artists. The new project is undoubtedly a significant development in my career. My work on the hypocrisy that surrounds female sexuality in Egypt has caused significant controversy in the past. In 2010, I participated in the Ministry of Culture show, The Human Body, with a painting work that depicted a woman in niqab (full facial veil) naked from the waist down and her genitals on full view. The public outcry was immediate and Facebook groups sprang up dedicated to abuse of my work and me as a person. Still I argue; the experience was a positive one. "My message was about the strength of this woman; about how she was on display by choice, in full command of her body and her needs. Now I see that there is so much hypocrisy behind culturally accepted signifiers. The message of my work hasn't changed since that time, but as long as I don't use [loaded symbols] I am now left alone." I faced this experience in many occasions, once I was attacked verbally in one of my shows because for some people religion in general is a forbidden area that no one is allowed to touch or discuss especially through paintings. Therefore, I would like to have the opportunity of expressing my art freely without strains or limits, without prejudgment just as pure art.