Press on 'The Virus is Spreading'

'The Virus is Spreading' has gotten quite a bit of press, before and after the show's opening. Here's a rundown of press previews and reviews.

Previews:

Ahram Online: "Traditional versus progressive. Old versus new. Tidy versus messy. Conventional versus revolutionary. Status quo versus counterculture."

Egypt Independent: "'The Virus is Spreading' presents a fantasy version of the street, in keeping with Ganzeer's interest in comics, his creation of fake advertisements, his imagining of unlikely situations in order to shed light on reality."

الشروق: "لازال يحتفظ [جنزير] بنفس الروح المقاتلة ويريد من خلال معرضه أن يقدم للناس جميعا فنا لصيقا بالشارع وقضايا الناس العادية، فنا يهم فئات المجتمع المختلفة وليس مجرد طبقة واحدة."

الحياة: "الفيروس هنا يشير إلى المتغيرات التي إقتحمت الحياة السياسية المصرية منذ إندلاع ثورة ٢٥ يناير، وتتمثل في أشكال المعارضة القوية والمتنوعة للنظام، والتي بات من المؤكد إن المجتمع لن يتخلى عنها."

Reviews:
Scoop Empire: "The artist, I believe, was reflecting on topics closer to the general public rather than the typical gallery crowd."

Cairo360: "With every round you take, there's more to discover - it's like a candy shop for art lovers."

Mariam Hamdy's On Art and Things: "I think that a lot of the drawings deserve a closer look, because although not at its fullest potential, Ganzeer's super talent can be seen in them."

Egypt Monocle: "[Ganzeer's cat] is an extremely powerful symbol, at once historical and contemporary, and most importantly for Ganzeer's frame of reference, very much 'of the street.'"

الوطن: "فيروس جنزير عبر عن ثقافة جديدة نابعة من عشوائية الشارع."

Other:
WashingtonExaminer.com: "In this Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 photo, Egyptian street artist [Ganzeer] walks by a mural with Arabic that reads 'the people are giving me a hard time,' inside an art exhibition of street graffiti in Cairo, Egypt."

Play On with Rami: "In this exclusive podcast, we find out how Ganzeer feels about art, sex, and punching people in the face..."

Cairo Zoom: "Taking the modern and street art scene by storm since he started his 'art-ivism' in 2011, Ganzeer got all serious on us, exhibiting a politically-charged, yet exuberant and exciting collection at the formal Safarkhan Gallery."

The Virus is Spreading: Opening Night

Work-in-Progress photo.

Described by Cairo360's Tanya El Kashef as a "candy shop for street-art lovers" and by Scoop Empire's Kareem El-Shaffei as "reflecting on topics closer to the general public rather than the typical gallery crowd," I think its safe to say that my show "The Virus is Spreading" at Safarkhan Art Gallery was a stellar success, despite its acknowledged shortcomings as pointed out in Mariam Hamdy's vicious review.

Although the show didn't come out exactly as I'd envisioned, its close enough. Since the show opened, I'd actually been visiting the gallery to finish things up the way I want, but with the month and the show quickly coming to I close, I've decided it's time to take off them gloves and give up. The best part was seeing ecstatically amazed crowds in and around the gallery on opening night.

Also, when still int he process of putting the show together, I couldn't help but notice the look of awe and confusion on the faces of passers by, very similar to the look I'd see on the public's faces when creating my very first public mural. Now that was the most satisfying of all.

"The Virus is Spreading" would, of course, not be the same without the spontaneous contributions of these very fine guest artists: Nadim, Shank, El Teneen, Al Okasha, Maghraffiti, Hady Kamar, Annie Rebekah Gardner, Shabana, Mohammed Said, and Sad Panda! Thanks, y'all!

I'll be sure to post clearer shots of the actual artwork soon. Do stay tuned.