Laura El-Tantawy

“Enclosed between four walls, the sound of silence never seemed louder. It’s claustrophobic. I wait for the phone to ring, check for emails obsessively, eat everything out of the fridge. The hunger remains. I feel like if I dig my hand deep into my soul, I will find nothing. The awareness I am experiencing is unspeakable. Faces change when we meet. Is their solitude reflected in mine? There is an awkward silence.” Laura El-Tantawy. Beyond Here Is Nothing is a photo-book object meditating on home. A place of belonging, a tranquil state of mind; a nostalgic memory or an imaginary destination – home is a perpetual possibility El-Tantawy is journeying to reach. Her personal experience growing up in contrasting cultures is the window to an intimate and emotive visual exploration of the unsettling feeling of rootlessness, the mental burden of loneliness and the constant search for belonging in unfamiliar places. Drifting between the physical and the whimsical, the book reveals itself through layers of images and words. A mirror of dispositions. A living object harmonizing with time. *Shortlist, The Anamorphosis Prize 2017* Photography and texts: Laura El-Tantawy. Self published edition of 500 Signed & numbered… (altro)

Post-Script revisits Laura El-Tantawy’s journey through Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square five years from Egypt’s momentous revolution and one year after the release of her self-published monograph, In the Shadow of the Pyramids.

The pocket-sized publication features previously unpublished images and written reflections where El-Tantawy takes readers behind the photographs and into the thoughts and emotions that went into making them. It can be considered a reflection on the act of photography itself.

The publication is released to coincide with the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2016, for which In the Shadow of the Pyramids is nominated. The series goes on show at The Photographer’s Gallery in London from April 15-July 3, 2016.… (altro)

In the Shadow of the Pyramids is a first person account exploring memory and identity. With images spanning 2005 to 2014, what began as a look in the mirror to understand the essence of Egyptian identity expanded into an exploration of the trials and tribulations of a turbulent nation.

The result is dark, sentimental and passionate. Juxtaposing the innocence of the past with the obscurity of the present, the book is an experience, edited to look like a one night’s encounter. A peaceful and tranquil day suddenly turns violent and chaotic, it’s claustrophobic, until a new dawn rises and there is hope again.

Self published with an edition of 500.

Selected for 2015 Fotobookfestival Kassel. Shortlisted for 2014 Unseen Dummy Award… (altro)