I Am One and also Two

28 May 2022

The exhibition that opened at MASQ on 28 May 2022 presented works in various media by European and Egyptian artists. On the occasion of the Europe Day, the exhibition explored the relations between Eastern and Western cultural idioms and traditions.

For centuries, on both sides of the Mediterranean, in Egypt and in Europe, art and culture developed sometimes in parallel, sometimes convergently, and sometimes differently, but always in mutually enriching interactions. The great European poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe brilliantly captured such coexistence and interdependence in the poem “Gingko Biloba” published in 1819 in his “West-Eastern Diwan”:

Is it but one being single,
Which as same itself divides?
Are there two which choose to mingle
So that each as one now hides?

to which he gave the reply: “I am one and also two”.

The works exhibited in the “I Am One and also Two” show by ten artists varied in forms of expression from painting and sculpture to photography, collages, projections, and contemporary art installations. The entries resulted from an open call for proposals.

The participating artists were:

• Asmaa Khoury, Egypt – Paintings
• Claudia von Funcke, Germany – Projection
• David O’Flynn, Ireland – Digital collage
• Doaa’ Hattem, Egypt – Paintings
• James Green, Great Britain – Installation
• Kevin Lim Kwi Loong, Ireland – Photography
• Laure Catugier, France – Projection
• Minas Younan, Egypt – Sculpture
• Nathalie Morcos, Egypt – Installation
• Rana Chalabi, Lebanon – Sculpture

The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a concert by Sheerin ‘Abdo that was enthusiastically received by the audience, and a very successful “Sultan’s Fair” of handcrafts. The event was attended by a numerous and very diverse audience.

Social and cultural activities at the MASQ are carried out by ARCHiNOS and its sister not-for profit organisation the Sultan Foundation and are financed primarily by the Drosos Foundation and the European Union.