Nermine Hammam (born 1967) is an Egyptian artist who lives and works in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and London. She was born in Cairo and later moved to England and then the United States in 1985. She received a BFA in film-making from the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

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. She worked in film with Simon & Goodman and then with Egyptian director

Youssef Chahine Youssef Chahine ( ar, يوسف شاهين, Yūsuf Shāhīn ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twelve films that were listed ...

. She was a production assistant on the 1992

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

film ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

''. Hammam subsequently worked as a graphic designer before moving on to visual arts and photography. As a female photographer, Hammam said she "entered this traditionally male-dominated space, camera in hand, inverting conventional power relationships to ‘shoot’ the soldiers. Their response to my presence, as a woman, in their midst, has become part of the ‘facts’ documented in these images.” Hammam is known for the distinctive technique with which she reworks photography, addressing the influence of mass media and market stylization. Her layered, digitally manipulated works explore the subjective nature of reality. As the founder and creative director of Equinox Graphics, Hammam is also known for introducing art into the public space through innovative design and branding. She is behind some of Egypt’s most familiar brands, including Cilantro Café, Diwan Bookstores and the Deyafa group of restaurants and bars. Her work has been included in solo and group exhibitions in Egypt, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the United States, Kuwait and Singapore. Hammam's work is included in the collections of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London, the

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and the Parco Horcynus Orca in Italy. Over the past decade, her work has been shown in more than seventy-five international exhibitions with over 7 exhibitions in the UK alone. Her work has been featured in over 50 publications and written about in the magazines such as ''

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'' (USA), the ''

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'' (UK), and ''

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'' (UK). In her London exhibition "Cairo Year One", Hammam used the style of traditional Japanese painting to present violent scenes from the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. "Cairo Year One" featured ten photographs from "Upekkha" (2011), the first part of the “Cairo Year One” series, and two photographs from later works in the series, “Unfolding” (2012). Hammam juxtaposed images of soldiers in Tahrir Square during the uprising with peaceful scenes from her personal collection of postcards. “This work is about youth, universal youth, and the harshness and inhumanity of sending our children to war”, said Hammam. Inspired by propaganda posters from the 1940s and ’50s depicting strong figures in idealized settings, Hammam said, “the backgrounds emphasize the discordant presence of armed men among civilians in Tahrir: men of war in Paradise.” Hammam received a 2011 Freedom to Create award (first prize); a 2011 Worldwide Photography Gala Award (first prize); a 2012 Julia Margaret Cameron Award (honorable mention); a 2010 Jacob Riis Award (runner-up); and was a 2010 Invisible World Portfolio Selection finalist (honorable mention).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammam, Nermine 1967 births Living people 20th-century Egyptian women artists 21st-century Egyptian women artists 20th-century women photographers 21st-century women photographers Photographers from Cairo Egyptian women photographers