Wael Shawky

Edited by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and Marcella Beccaria

A series of film works, sculptures, and new wooden high-reliefs by the Egyptian artist inspired by the Crusades and narrated from an Arab rather than a European point of view

Born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1971, Wael Shawky has become one of the most fascinating figures on the contemporary Arab art scene. His works — comprised of film, sculptures, drawings and environments — explore the influences of the past on the present and shed new light on the roots of some of the most significant cultural and sociopolitical crises of today.

Now out from Skira Editore on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Turin, a new catalogue examines Shawky’s research and production on the history of the Crusades. The book includes the artist’s new project — drawings realised in dialogue with Henrich von Kleist’s essay “On the Marionette Theatre” (1810) — as well as critical essays by Carolyn Christ-Bakargiev and Laura U. Marks and a conversation between Shawky and Marcella Beccaria. The book’s anthology section includes texts and essays by Hoor Al-Qasimi, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and others, in addition to those of the artist and the exhibition’s curators.

About the Editors

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is an writer, art historian and curator. She is the director of Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea.
Marcella Beccaria is the chief curator at Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea.

Publication: February 2018
Length: 252 pages
Size: 24 x 28 cm
Illustrations: 254 colour
Binding: Hardcover Price: £38.00  €45.00  $50.00 US  $67.50 CAN

ISBN: 978-88-572- 3492-2