Adel El Siwi

In the Presence of the Animal

Animals have run through El Siwi's work for decades, from the bestiaries on paper of the 1990s to the fables of the 2000s. They became its central subject in In the Presence of the Animal, developed over six years and shown at Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, in 2017: some 280 paintings, drawings, monoprints and assemblages.

Drawing on Arab fables, folklore and ancient Egyptian imagery, the work places humans and animals within a shared visual and symbolic space: the animals are not symbols subordinate to people, but autonomous presences occupying the same imaginative and emotional ground.

About Distance About Distance, 2015 L’enfant prodige L’enfant prodige, 2015 Design Design, 2015 Daily Chase Daily Chase, 2015 His Master’s Voice His Master’s Voice, 2015 Jealousy Eats the Soul Jealousy Eats the Soul, 2015 The Dragon The Dragon, 2015 The Coyote The Coyote, 2015 Silence Silence, 2015 Look at Me Look at Me, 2015 Aslan Aslan, 2015 The New World The New World, 2015 Flying Lesson Flying Lesson, 2015 The Deer The Deer, 2015 Donald Duck’s Last Battle (2) Donald Duck’s Last Battle (2), 2016 Mechanical Giraffe Mechanical Giraffe, 2015 The Voyager The Voyager, 2015 Encounter Encounter, 2015 Bewitched Prince Bewitched Prince, 2015 The Octopus The Octopus, 2015 The Edge of the World The Edge of the World, 2015 The Family The Family, 2015 The Elephant Man The Elephant Man, 2015 The Butterflies The Butterflies, 2015 Noon Light Noon Light, 2015 The Cage The Cage, 2012 The Fox The Fox, 2015 Save the Hedgehog Save the Hedgehog, 2015 The Tower of the Hyena The Tower of the Hyena, 2017 Regarding the Elephant Regarding the Elephant, 2017 The Beautiful and the Sacred The Beautiful and the Sacred, 2017 Modus Operandi Modus Operandi, 2015 Days of the Capricorn (1) Days of the Capricorn (1), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (5) Days of the Capricorn (5), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (3) Days of the Capricorn (3), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (4) Days of the Capricorn (4), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (7) Days of the Capricorn (7), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (2) Days of the Capricorn (2), 2015 Days of the Capricorn (6) Days of the Capricorn (6), 2015 Capricorn Sketches Capricorn Sketches, 2015 Listening to the Rabbit Listening to the Rabbit Beauty in the Forest Beauty in the Forest The Bewitched Prince The Bewitched Prince, 2024 Saving the Fox Saving the Fox, 2024 The Deluge The Deluge, 2021 In the Mint Field In the Mint Field The Three Gazelles The Three Gazelles Seated Dog Seated Dog The Wolf The Wolf