The latest exhibition of works by Hossam Dirar, one of the Middle East's most promising artists today, pays homage to 19th-century Cairo through his re-interpretation of Orientalist paintings. “Le Caire 1801,” which opened at the Soma Art Gallery in Cairo on Feb. 4, features works in which Dirar has added his own touch of striking colors, among them shades of red and blue, to the older works depicting Western artists’ images of Egypt.
“I took European Orientalist artists’ paintings, which I duplicated as black and white photos, and then I painted over them using acrylic paints and inks,” Dirar told Al-Monitor. “I used collage techniques on some of the works.”