To speak about the present Egyptian design landscape, I find myself sorting through an array of "low-resolution" images from the past. Bringing these images into focus is imperative if we want to trace the emergence of distinct aesthetic qualities currently permeating the Egyptian cultural landscape.
This 'Made in Egypt' aesthetic describes the synthesis and embrace of local and regional street cultures, and revitalised interest in traditional crafts, calligraphy, graphic practices, kitsch visuals, and the vernacular.
To fully understand this aesthetic, I think we need to start by looking at how Egyptian culture has been represented through the Western gaze - because one cannot ignore the echoes of these representations in contemporary Egyptian cultural expressions.
Egypt consistently appeared as the quintessential object of the colonial gaze, viewed through a lens that accentuated its otherness, reinforcing a colonial narrative of inferiority.
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