In the sculptural installations and wall objects of Egyptian-born, Vienna-based visual artist Hazem El Mestikawy, juxtaposition creates technically elaborate and thematically engaging works. With flawless precision and a geometric complexity, El Mestikawy carefully overlaps and arranges different sections or modules and ultimately locks or glues them together – like a puzzle – to create a homogeneous unity. Architectural in forms, El Mestikawy’s creations entwine thought and form and use a variety of inspirations from the artist’s heritage such as the most fundamental principle of Sufism of unity in multiplicity. Geometric forms as well as letters or numbers are repeated symmetrically to form patterns and provide the impression of infinity, abstraction and purity. The notion of meditative process, repetition and time, as also found in Islamic art and architecture and ancient Egyptian art, is a constant guiding spirit.
