deliverance art exhibition

Sunday, May 6, 2012 6:00pm until 10:00pm Cairo, Egypt Al Kahila art gallery 15 battal ahmed abdel aziz st mohandesin Cairo Egypt Exhibition title: Deliverance Art statement Deliverance: 1. The act of delivering or freeing from restraint, rescue, as the deliverance of a captive. 2. Act of bringing forth children. 3. The state of being delivered or freed from restraint. 4. Anything delivered or communicated esp. an opinion or decision expressed publicly. Many have asked me not to express myself and that the revolution has been worn out and that nobody wants to hear about it anymore but the revolution is inside us and I must deliver what is true. The state of women, freedom of expression and the cry for justice and mercy along with the deliverance of the unborn child! The children of the revolution are what this exhibition is about. An artist is often a sponge of their environment and to be a true artist he/she can not paint about what will sell rather than what is true. I paint what I feel without any other concern. A revolution that is yet to be delivered like a baby waiting to be born.

a dirty show

have they been scaring us with the islamist boogyman?
or was it real that the people wanted us to be iran?
is pakistan our role model now?
or has it all been a dirty script scaring us of becoming iran and making us run crying back to x regime
or omar soliman
x regime?
or is it the regime?
has it all been fake?
at some point i thought we were so close to the light
like all those who reached the light before us
and then suddenly they shattered all my dreams with beards and trivial talks about bikinis and beers
nobody talked about education
nobody talked about healthcare
nobody talked about justice
nobody explained anything or any sort of plan

no i wont carry the worries of a nation
no i do not trust the system
and no i wont curse it out of fear of being sent to jail too
despite the delusions the filth the pollution
despite the no security the no garauntees and the no anything
the nothingness that we are so in love with
despite it all we wanted to stay
and make it here some way


but we do not wanna live like rats in the dark all the time
with our fellow citizens suffering all the time
with so many people who have nothing
with so many fears of theft and murder
and stories of people weknow being kidnapped and worse murdered
there are those we lost in the square
and those we lost in the field
and now the rich are a target in a land where bread is a luxury
we have so much help here
and all our families
we are so connected to them
we wanna make it work here

but then again there is the islamist boogyman from one side
on the other side x regime promising to keep our comfortable selfish lifestyle and bring back an iron fist that promises security again
and no sign of a revolution that happened just old scripts of fake scenarios that all took place
all manufactured to scare the hell out of the simple man
the me and the you
all thats left is the blood
that has been mentioned so much that it even bores everyone to discuss

it all seems fake
like a dirty well laid plan
and the price of the ordinary man is cheap
and i can still see the blood in the street
but then again the sun shines every day and if only i do not turn the tv on at night and c all the talk shows
its like every thing is ok

and the sad thing is everyone is sick of the revolution nobody wants to talk about it anymore
discussing the rights of freedom and justice have become lame so 2011 and so worn out

we are all dissapointed
living in a place that makes no sense
and no we can not trust anymore
we can only expect anything and we all wait to c the weirdest things to happen

and in a state of national uncertainty all we can do is focus on our small lives and try to enjoy the simple moments of joy
food, love, family
isnt this what the real stuff are about?
who knows maybe real positive change will happen but maybe not in my lifetime

the rich dont care

some how some way i have noticed that the rich dont care
they say with noses pointing to the sky the people in tahrir are thugs

i tell them no they are not
they say have u been there have u seen them
i say yes
maybe they dont look so clean cuz theyve been there for weeks

and then they go on to provoke me more and say
why was the girl in the blue bra not wearing a shirt under her black abaya
and Oh God nothing annoys me more than that
because if they saw the video she was and if she wasnt she is free
because underneath ur clothes u can wear whatever you want
you dont think well maybe if they undress me i need to wear layers
undressing people is not an option usually

and then they say what brought her there
and oh i cant even stand this anymore

and the street children who were killed
they say they are street children as if that is their fault and as if for that they deserve to die

the rich dont care

they dont care for the blood shed
all they care for is if a building got burned or a material thing got touched
but they do not value the lives that are lost

the rich dont care


i think its disgusting not to even have a stance with ur heart
not to take the side of justice not even with ur heart

they walk around in expensive clothes they live in huge houses and their hearts are so cold
they are so blinded

they really do not care

no its not democracy to respect their opinion
because when u are for murder and inhumanity
you are not worthy of respect


sadly so many people i know dont care if a man is killed for asking for a better life
just because he is poor uneducated or even looks messy

the rich dont care

She is with God

at the hussein mosque she came in wearing big loose black garments and a veil like all the women there were dressed
she oozed so much confidence
and strong will
she was big and full of life like a warrior of light

she was so strong
like a fighter like no one can stand in her way
the man at the door wanted to take her shoe and give her a number like everyone else
but she refused
she said i wont take a number
she put her shoe on the shelf and with a loud strong voice she said
im with God

she went to the tomb of al Hussein the grand son of my beloved prophet
and she started singing poetry of sufi love
praising the prophet his grandson and all his family
praising the sufis GOD and the seekers of light

she took away all my sadness
she sang like she did not care what anyone thought
everyone gathered and cried
she touched all our souls
she was different and confident
like a thousand men could not stand in her way

like a million women were inside her abaya
like a warrior of light
she took us all in a sufi trance

she made me realize why this land is so precious
because its full of light and spirituality
so many poor people tied closely to God
the egyptians are originally mystics
the egyptian muslims are mostly sufis
don't fear the fundies the warriors of light will win
because they pray from the heart
and from them true peace can fill the land


this land is worth it
this land is full of light
and the sufis will not stop singing


today i met a woman who said im with God
and no one can stand in her way

evolution revolution

if you keep fighting it you will gain nothing
its part of the spiritual evolution

so many angels on this earth right now
here to take us higher
here to change us

all the experts know about 2012 and how much it will be so much better for us

all the tyrants have no place
all of those who were swiming in cash are drowning now
or finding shores where their cash means nothing

you can fight it
you can blame the u.s and isreal for everything on earth
but you can also embrace the change
you can realise its good

your soul knows it
you can stop using ur monkey brain
you can open your heart
your soul wants to evolve too

let it

God is so close
you are connected to him know it or not
believe in him or not he created you and the world as you know it

the old ways of running after money and power will not work anymore

yes your life was comfortable but now is the time to feel for the rest of those on the sinking boat


we can keep crying for the few we think are now unjustly in jail
we can keep falling into hate and misery and fight the waves of change

but its happening so you might as well surf
you might as well let it go and let the meant to be happen

if you were attached to the material world
you will have nothing
find God inside you
yes its not like hollywood and all the cool things that make talking about him geeky
but you know what? God is here and he is great and so much light came from him and his angels

maybe its time you realise the practical and mundane are lame

or not

but everyone else is embracing the light
im not judging you
you are the only one still suffering
we all suffered from fear but now we are happy and we realized the impermenance of our material enviroments
stay in the freak out zone

we will find the light
and we will be dancing in circles with the angels while you dread the change and how things did not go ur way

we will be high while you keep smiling at the instability saying i told you so

but we are not shortsighted we know its part of the evolution to go through some instability and guess what we are not glued to the news

and guess what there is no me and you
there is no us and them
there is no concpiracy either

because we are all one we are all divine because we are all him and he is inside each of us and the skies tie us on this earth into one
and if you open your eyes you will see so much beauty and if you close your eyes you will see even more light and beauty

love and peace on you

The science of pain

Pain comes on slowly it gets stronger and stronger and stronger until you can not bear it any longer
then pain has to faDe slowly cuz that's how pain works
They say endure it
Pain teaches you the blessing of not having it
Pain is mostly from stress
The mind can't handle it
so it manifests
in an aching part of ur physical body

Pain has to go away
It makes you suffer
And from that you grow
and learn about the pains of others
You then relate
Pain is a club a dark one that makes you bond

You know exactly how it is for those
who are going through what you went through
Pain teaches you about impermanence
Makes you decide to detach or else die and get it over with

Pain and patience go hand in hand
Nobody wants to talk about pain

When pain leaves peace of mind rests and suddenly you are so close to GOd
As if the demons in your head caused the pain

and at other times the pain itself brings you close to GOD
Pain is not fair but it's a great teacher that leaves scars and gives you stories to share

Pain is very close to pleasure
When the pleasure is absent then comes pain
teaching us to leave the game
And find a safer place
where there is no pleasure and no pain

Don't be a magnet to the pain
Pain chooses his victims like they are waiting to suffer


Don't go through another's pain
Help but don't feel it
You will get your share so don't bleed twice

Be the strong rock instead


Pain is part of human life
We can't escape it

Pain is a harsh good teacher

But I thank GOd for the pain cuz it taught me about blessings of peace of mind

But the worst kinds of pains are pains of the heart
Keep the heart happy and pure cuz sooner or later pain will visit and the heart needs to be peaceful and away from pleasure


Love is painful
So even in love rise moderately and don't fall hard
So the bruises don't give you too much pain

Cairo post rev

I love people watching
I go out to cafes to see what everyone is up to
What they are saying
And from that i understand how things are in a place

Yesterday at night in tabasco cafe
A young man of artistic nature ordered a coffee and wanted to light a cig in the closed space
I asked if he doesn't mind waiting till I leave since me and my baby we can't breath

He was understanding
He waited and gave me the right of oxygen

His two girl friends came in and hugged him cuz he just came from Alex
They really missed him

He had so Much art to show them in his notebook and many interesting stories to tell them about life in Alex
They were all liberal, wearing jeans and t shirts very Egyptian and very proud
Two strong women who felt like they were taking care of him
He was so slim he doesn't eat much
So they laughed and ordered their own lunch

He started telling his stories his sad stories
He was loud and we were the only ones there

I told them I hope you guys don't mind that I can hear everything you are saying
I am entertained but I want to have your permission to continue listening
They laughed so much and apologized
I explained that I'm loving it
They went on to telling their story

he talked about Alexandria
that Alex has become another gaza
Beards and long cloaks everywhere
All the workers are dressed in the typical Islamic garments and the army is creating an environment of hostility

He said things are much worse in Alex

You see Alexandria has always been more conservative
And after the fall of the Islamic phobic regime the Saudi influenced people are shining now and it's like they are all out of the closet


Even here in Cairo
Suddenly the long messy beards have grown out of the once shaved faces of men I used to know who worked at the store
I realized they were always religious but Mubarak made them hide it since they could have been arrested
Anything forbidden is more interesting
They forbade religion and made it so wrong that now it's freedom showing that you are very religious

I believe religion is inside us
But I believe people should be able to dress and look the way they want to

The young man told his girlfriends that two of his Friends died in Alex
I was shocked they are young
He said one died from a heart attack in his apartment
The other from an overdose

Many people are dying from heart attacks these days
I could relate some of the nights of the revolution I could have easily lost my life too
My heart was almost stopping from fear of the thugs and gunfire of the old regime

I wondered if the islamists rule will these friends be able to meet again and sit together and laugh
Will they be able to wear short sleeves and touch as they talk

I started remembering how we look at the way Egyptians used to dress at the king Farouk times
we never know if the way we dress now will be remembered as the good old days of freedom
thats if the islamists rule

then i said no
the liberals are here
they wont let it go
the voice of the fundies is high
but they are a minority

the sufis and the liberals are still here
we egyptians are faithful by nature
faith is part of our being
so its natural for religion to play a role

but freedom and arts are also parts of us

i dont wanna be obsessed with the islamist boogiman like my fellow x regime lovers
i dont wanna be paralysed by fear from the lack of security

life will go on
art will go on
if i paint and the worker works and the singer sings
maybe life will be better here
it already feels way better

just now i was overhearing a group of people forming an alliance to help egypt
loud people who are passionate and a bit annoying are discussing the future of the country which is awesome

there is a buzz
and it is exciting