Mohamed el-Ganouby's work is concerned with nostalgia, nomadism and the idea of "home." As an Egyptian now living in the American South, his work explores how culture creates a collective identity.
"A recurring feature of my paintings, installations and mixed-media pieces is the use of raw materials - sand, wood, spices and wax - chosen both for their association with rural southern Egypt, where I grew up, and for their suggestion of primitiveness.
In his new series “I” or “Ana” in Arabic, El Ganouby tackles a subject that is close to his heart and a subject that has been occupying Egyptian artists since the foundation of modern art back in the early 20th century – the search for an identity.
Leaving behind his home country to start a new life in the US seems to revive his questioning of who he is, who we are and who they are.
