One of the large paintings on display in Cairo’s Zamalek Art Gallery shows a circus, painted in bright colors, where belly dancers dance joyfully as a band of elephants makes music and acrobats and a unicorn entertain a stone-faced audience. The prominent figure in the painting is a richly dressed clown, with a hat that resembles the pharaonic headdress.
“The clown symbolizes Egypt,” said Carelle Homsy, the artist. “Both Egyptians and foreigners think that Egypt is a poor country that does not know which direction it is heading — just like a clown. But, in fact, what the clown shows is the mask.”