El Teneen (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, "the Dragon") is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of an anonymous -year-old Egyptian

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acroba ...

and

graffiti artist Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

whose work gained popularity and notoriety in Egypt following the 2011 Revolution. El Teneen originally formed one half of the pair "Team El Teneen", or "Dragon Team"; however, the artist (identified by

Al-Masry Al-Youm ''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Arabic as is its website, ''almasryalyoum.com''. An ...

newspaper as a male) now works primarily independently. His works of art have been described as "icons of the 25 January revolution." He exhibited at

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams ...

's 2015

Dismaland Dismaland was a temporary art project organised by street artist Banksy in the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. Prepared in secret, the pop-up exhibition at the Tropicana, Weston-super-Mare, Tropicana, a disused Lido (sw ...

"bemusement park" in England.

Career and politics

El Teneen was not an experienced artist before the 2011 revolution, having focused primarily on abstract painting and studying a field related to science, and he reportedly works in graphic design. Since the revolution, his work has been noted for its revolutionary character and its criticism of

SCAF The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; ar, المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة, ', also Higher Council of the Armed Forces) is a statutory body of between 20 and 25 senior Egyptian military officers and is headed by ...

. A self-described graffiti artist, El Teneen says on his associated

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

profile that "I spray shit on walls in Cairo streets." Political street art was not common in Egypt prior to the 2011 revolution, but proliferated in public spaces in the post-revolution era. Artwork targeting the

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF; ar, المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة, ', also Higher Council of the Armed Forces) is a statutory body of between 20 and 25 senior Egyptian military officers and is headed by Fi ...

, or SCAF, in particular surged in popularity since the revolution because, according to

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

, such "anti-military graffiti is a reflection of Egyptian activists' frustration with the military rulers, who they say replaced one autocracy with another." However, although graffiti in particular has proliferated in Egyptian cities since the revolution, El Teneen has noted that most of it "is not political ... Maybe we can say that people are expressing themselves, but the streets aren't ours yet." El Teneen has said that his artwork is not solely political: "Even if the political situation here is resolved ... we will still have to talk about women, religion and other issues."

Artwork

El Teneen's artwork has been noted for its political nature. In particular, a spray-painted image of a chessboard depicting a toppled king surrounded by bishops, knights and rooks opposed by several rows of amassed pawns that the artist drew on the campus of the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

was widely noted. El Teneen's work is not solely political; he participated in an exhibition entitled "Black and White," in which he depicted a series of cultural icons of Egyptian cinema, including

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

and

Hind Rostom Hind Hussain Mohammed or Nariman Hussein Murad, more commonly known by her stage name Hind Rostom, ( ar, هند رستم ; November 12, 1929 – August 8, 2011) was an Egyptian actress and is considered one of the seduction icons in the Eg ...

. El Teneen exhibited at

's 2015

"bemusement park" in England.

References

External links

El Teneen's websiteFacebook profileInterview with Al-Masry Al-Youm English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teneen Egyptian graffiti artists Egyptian graphic designers Living people Pseudonymous artists Egyptian contemporary artists Year of birth missing (living people)

Career and politics

Artwork

See also

References

External links