Re-territorialization: escaping the frame

Abstract

In this paper I will introduce the theories and motivations that contextualize my practice during the course of my 2-year MFA degree. I will start off with an introduction; a brief summary of the events that took place in my country—Egypt, and that instigated my research. In the first chapter, I will investigate the issue of social confinement, and its psychological effect on individuals and groups. The second chapter is an explanation of my visual interpretation of psychological confinement and a closer examination of my artistic work. The third chapter is an analysis and discussion of the conceptual aspects of my use of the term ‘frame,’ in reference to ancient Egyptian mythology and the contemporary term territorialization. The fourth and last chapter is a further application of the notion of territorialization as a critique of street art, as well as a conceptual tool for the investigation of my own practice. I will try to convey the ideological and visual battles that take place between the public and the institution through examples of Egyptian street art and my work.