An excerpt from a photographic series that is part of a larger project using the artist’s first name ‘Mohamed’ as a starting point. The project explores the tension between reverence and the profane by creating a manifold portrait of Mohamed appropriated from Egyptian cinema.

In this series, an archive of the name has been built from the opening credits of a large collection of Egyptian films. Whenever an actor named Mohamed is credited, the screen still is grabbed and the second names and role descriptions are then erased, leaving the single word Mohamed and the original film scene in the background. The images are then rephotographed and put through a combination of digital and sometimes analog processes. This obscures the original film transforming their materiality to create an ambiguous connection between the written word and image.

Ezz Monem (born Mohamed Ezzeldin M. Abdelmonem; 1985) is a photo-based artist from Egypt who lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. His work has been shown in exhibitions in Egypt, Australia and various other countries in Europe and the Middle East where he has received numerous awards. Monem recently completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the VCA, University of Melbourne.

Ezz Monem is represented by THIS IS NO FANTASY gallery, Melbourne.

View this work at Fitzroy Library, opening hours below:

• Monday: 10am to 6pm
• Tuesday: 10am to 8pm
• Wednesday: 10am to 8pm
• Thursday: 10am to 8pm
• Friday: 10am to 6pm
• Saturday: 10am to 4pm
• Sunday: 2pm to 5pm