The real and the surreal converge in Wael Shawky's immersive narratives

The Egyptian artist Wael Shawky may work in drawing, painting, sculpture, film and performance, but across all these disciplines, storytelling is his canvas. He builds a fascinating web of references from history and literature to create immersive narratives, inviting viewers to re-examine their understanding of history and identity. The Alexandria-born artist who lives between Egypt and the United States was chosen to represent Egypt at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, in a national pavilion commissioned by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture – Accademia d’Egitto. Drama 1882, created for the biennale, is a filmed rendition of an original musical play, exploring Egypt’s nationalist Urabi revolution in the 19^th century against imperial and colonial influence. The work is directed, choreographed and composed by Shawky and is sung in classical Arabic by professional performers.

The interesting thing about this discourse is the idea of the foreigners—what does it mean to be 'foreigners'? – Wael Shawky

Like many other national pavilions at the Venice Art Biennale 2024, Shawky’s work draws inspiration from the biennale’s theme, Foreigners Everywhere. The Urabi uprising takes its name from its leader, Ahmed Urabi, an Egyptian military officer. Urabi, a colonel in the Egyptian army with roots in a peasant family, represented the concerns of the Egyptian masses. In the 1870s, Egypt was besieged by fiscal and economic crises. Ruled by Isma’il Pasha, it was heavily in debt. The country’s finances were increasingly controlled by British and French colonial agents, at the behest of Egypt’s European lenders. Europeans occupied key bureaucratic, military and trade positions, shutting native Egyptians out of these positions and aggravating income inequality. The 'foreigner' in 19^th century Egypt held power and influence, unlike the figure of the disenfranchised 'immigrant' of today. "The interesting thing about this discourse is the idea of the foreigners—what does it mean to be 'foreigners'? Who were they? They were the occupiers—it was not the idea of immigrants that we have today,” Shawky says in a press release.

Shawky rehearses civilisational history and popular mythology in new formations in his work. He sees himself as a 'translator' of ideas and narratives; his role is to be a conduit between the stories he receives and the audiences who engage with his work. In his Cabaret Crusades trilogy of films (2010-2015), he uses marionettes and puppets to tell the story of The Crusades, the medieval conflicts between Christians and Muslims, which pitted popes and Christian kingdoms in Europe against Muslim territories in Europe and Asia. Whose interpretation of the Crusades does history favour? Shawky's work is inspired by French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf’s 1983 essay, The Crusades through Arab Eyes. In The Secrets of Karbala (2015), Shawky casts marionette puppets in scenes charged with frenetic action, their heads bobbing as they make weighty proclamations and decisions about the lives and destinies of others. Made of blown glass, the puppets are detailed and distinctive, their movements loaded with microscopic nuance—like the camel lowering its snout into hot, dry sand when Husayn, one of the key figures in the battle of Karbala, is stranded without water. The puppets are filmed on a revolving set, the camera tightly circling them to accentuate their detailed choreography, heightening the dramatic tension of the narrative.

For Drama 1882, Shawky worked with adult performers for the first time, in a departure from his previous casting choices—puppets, marionettes and children. He says in the press release, “Normally I insisted on erasing drama from my previous films…This time drama has several meanings: There is the sense of make-believe, connected to the idea of having a show, like theatre.” Shawky asserts that Drama 1882 is not a theatrical performance, preferring to contextualise it as a moving painting. “The background is moving in slow motion, as if in layers. In the end, this makes the work like a moving painting, with the performers and soundtrack being elements in this composition. The word ‘drama’ has many implications: it conjures a sense of entertainment, the sense of catastrophe and our inherent doubt in history,” he says. In addition to the film, Shawky’s presentation at the biennale also includes vitrines, sculptures, paintings, drawings and a Murano mirror relief.

Shawky finds himself at the Venice Art Biennale at a crucial moment in global history, with a record number of people currently displaced by war and climate change. The ‘foreigner’ is a layered figure: there are foreigners everywhere, they may be queer, indigenous, they may be outsiders, or may operate on the fringes of established discourses. In contemporary realities, the foreigner is often in transit, tracing recurring pathways between the Global North and Global South. These perspectives inform curator Adriano Pedrosa’s framing of the 2024 biennale and also resonate with Shawky, who says, “This is a moment of global political urgency and revolutionary change. It seemed paramount to represent my country with a strong message at this time. To reflect on the historic occupation in Egypt felt timely, pressing and important.”

The mandate of the 60th Venice Biennale, which aims to highlight under-represented artists and art histories, aligns with the STIR philosophy of challenging the status quo and presenting powerful perspectives. Explore our series on the Biennale, STIRring 'Everywhere' in Venice, which brings you a curated selection of the burgeoning creative activity in the historic city of Venice, in a range of textual and audiovisual formats.