Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed
Ezz Monem
10–27 Aug 2022
Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed is a multichannel video, sound, and slide projection work which 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 iteration, an archive of the name has been built based on specific criteria that involve the use of the name Mohamed, either as a fictional character, a symbolic representation in a religious film, or an actor’s real name displayed in the opening credits.
A collection of CRT TV’s present scenes extracted from Egyptian films whose content is determined by an actor or actress ennunciating the name “Mohamed”. Contextualising dialogue is muted and an asynchronous chorus of “Mohamed’s” remains.
Accompanying the video installation is a sound work composed by Matthew Davis who micro-sampled the sound Mohamed from the same films and processed them with a set of analog filters.
The slides project an ‘archive of opening credits’ containing the word ‘Mohamed’ built from a large collection of Egyptian films. Grabbed from the screen whenever an actor named Mohamed is credited, second names and role descriptions are then erased from the still, leaving the single word Mohamed and the original film scene in the background. Rephotographed and transposed to slide, the images are put through a combination of digital, and sometimes analog processes that obscure the original film transforming their materiality, creating an ambiguous connection between the written word and image.
Mohammed Mohammed Mohammed, through an extensive process of copying, erasing and repetition combined with material transposition de-contextualises different references to the name Mohammed, highlighting the boundaries of representation.
Image credit: Ezz Monem, Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed, multi-channel video, sound by Matthew Davis, CRT TVs, 35mm slides, Kodak Ektapro slide projectors, Arduino microcontroller, timber and metal structures.
The artist gives thanks to Raafat Ishak, Matthew Davis, Lisa Radford, Nicholas Burridge, Alaa Samir, Ayman Kaake, Maud Freeman, and Lauren Dunn.
Ezz Monem (born Mohamed Ezzeldin M. Abdelmonem; Oct 25, 1985) is a photo-baed artist from Egypt who lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University in 2007, but his explorations I visual arts began years earlier. In 2003, he began to focus on photography besides his work as a software developer. His work has been shown in exhibitions in Egypt, Australia and various other countries in Europe and the Middle East where he received various awards. Monem has recently completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the VCA, University of Melbourne.
Ezz Monem is represented by THIS IS NO FANTASY gallery.
Mohamed Mohamed Mohamed is a multichannel video, sound, and slide projection work which 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.
This program takes place on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded - this land is stolen land. We pay respects to Wurundjeri Elders, past, present and emerging, to the Elders from other communities and to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who might encounter or participate in the program.
Ezz Monem (born Mohamed Ezzeldin M. Abdelmonem; October 23, 1985) is a photo-based artist from Egypt who lives and works in Melbourne, Australia. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University in 2007, but his explorations in visual arts began years earlier. In 2003, he began to focus on photography besides his work as a software developer. His work has been shown in exhibitions in Egypt, Australia and various other countries in Europe and the Middle East where he received various awards. Monem has recently completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), University of Melbourne.
Ezz Monem is represented by THIS IS NO FANTASY gallery.