Cairo revolutionaries are taking to the streets once more – this time with artwork. People have been painting the sides of buildings to mark the end of the first phase of the Egyptian revolution, but the military regime has been trying to wipe out these marks of freedom.
As a result, underground graffiti artists have been working by night to put up some of their own work to document this moment in history on the walls of Cairo.
The mural above was painted onto a building just a few blocks from the historic site, Tahrir Square.
On a wall scarred by street fights — punctured with bullet holes and charred by Molotov cocktails — a piano has emerged. This is reminiscent of a slogan that appeared on the walls of Paris during the uprising in May ’68 — “Sous les pavés, la plage” (Under the paving stones, the beach) — and speaks to the spirit of collective optimism of the Egyptian revolution, which toppled a tyrant and is creatively reclaiming the streets.
The fist is another symbol seen on many of the Cairo buildings, “reflecting the strength of the revolution, from the unity built betweem Muslims and Christians, to the emergence of strikes that finally drove Mubarak from power and that are continuing to push the revolution forward.”
Some of the other artwork is more straightforward.
On the far left, in muddled print, there is another message: “long live freedom.”
The graffiti as a whole is representative of the revolutionary movement in Egypt earlier this year.
As street artist Ganzeer explained, “Creating graffiti involves taking ownership of the streets, just like we did during the uprising. And so of course it’s political, and illegal.”
Here’s some more of the artwork depicted on the streets of Cairo:
A mural of martyr Islam Raafat
A criticism of the military by Ganzeer
For more artwork, see this article.
Photos and Quotes via Your Heart’s on the Left.
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