Graffiti's Day in [Lebanese] Court

The case of Samaan Khawam is about far more than the so-called "vandalism" of public space or of a citizen's refusal to be fined by his government. It is clearly about redefining what public space really entails and how the public should be "allowed" to use that space. It's also about the fight for self expression outside of institutionalized means provided by the government.

Honestly now, if you want to draw something on a street in your neighborhood. And the people living on that street have no problem with that. In fact, they encourage that. How can it be okay for some guy in a governmental office building to decide otherwise?

Governments don't want you to visually express yourself in public without their permission. Is the rhetoric of "vandalism" the true motive behind such restrictions or are they afraid of something else?

Read more about Samaan Khawam's case here. And please support him, because this is about a lot more than just him.

Ägyptische Street Art und Arabic Graffiti in Frankfurt Von Kersten Knipp

An interview on German radio is available on Dradio.de featuring Aya Tarek, El Seed, and myself.

More Photos From Frankfurt Street-Art Action

Here are some more photographs from the Frankfurt street-art thing. This time, these are by Wolfgang Sterneck.

From the looks of the last few images, it seems that people have begun to physically interact with some of the pieces. More documentation is available on Wolfgang Sterneck's flickr set.

Street-Art in Frankfurt

Here are some photos from Frankfurt by Don Karl:

Stenciling some text.

Still stenciling some text.

Impressing the kids. 

I'm not sure what this guy thinks of what we're doing.

Close-up.

eLSeed touching up his calligraphy.

Close-up on one of my unfinished child soldiers.

Child Soldier with background calligraphy by eLSeed.

Child Soldier in collaboration with Case and eLSeed.

Aya Tarek teaching me how to ink.

Aya Tarek touching up my revolutionary punk.

Taking a breather with Aya Tarek.

My revolutionary punk after completion, with room left for people to add stickers onto his coat. 

My revolutionary punk side-by-side a very powerful piece by Ammar Abo Bakr.

My revolutionary punk promoting the next European Day Against Capitalism.

Euro-Anarchy. 

With the Caram Kapp, eLSeed, Aya Tarek, Don Karl, and Ammar Abo Bakr before departing Frankfurt.

Working in Frankfurt

Here's a dope little video by Stefan Pohl showing me, Ammar Abo Bakr, Case, eLSeed, and Aya Tarek at work in Frankfurt, Germany.



Will post photos soon, but right now I'm in Katowice, Poland to participate in the 2nd Katowice Street Art Festival.

Arabic Graffiti & Egyptian Street Art Action in Frankfurt

I am now in Frankfurt, Germany, together with Ammar Abo Bakr, Aya Tarek, eL Seed, and Case, while being heavily assisted by Caram Kapp to work on some street-art around the Tutankhamon hall that features replicas of the ancient pharoah's treasures.

The first "GanSeed" - an eL Seed & Ganzeer collabo.

I'm really excited to be working with these guys (& girl). Most especially eL Seed who I've been a long time admirer of. More detailed information on the program of this event is available on From Here To Fame - the guys responsible for bringing us to Frankfurt.

Work-in-progress photos and videos are available on my mobile blog: Ganzeer's Puny Machine.

Getting measurements with Ammar Abo Bakr in Frankfurt, Germany. 

Photograph by Aya Tarek.

In Support of Samaan Khawwam

Lebanese artist Samaan Khawwam is standing trial for painting an image of AK47s and camouflage on the streets of Beirut, a city where street artists are never prosecuted for graffiti. Authorities are charging Samaan for "vandalism," but we all know what the real reason is. 

I created this image in support of Samaan, and it was featured in Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar alongside the work of other acclaimed artists from the Arab world showing solidarity to Samaan.

Bothina Kamel Poster

Although I am against presidential elections under the rule of SCAF and am pretty sure they will be far from "clean," I created this poster in support of Bothina Kamel yesterday. She, to me, comes off as the most honest, least selfish, and most caring about the country out of all the presidential candidates currently present out there.

Text Translation:

Egypt does not need a leader. Each needs a mother to care for her and protect her.

As far as I'm concerned, she earns 2nd place right after Baradei, who stepped out knowing this whole thing is a dirty SCAF-directed game.

A hi-res version of the poster can be downloaded here.