PORTFOLIO

Composites

Looking Forward – Cairo, Egypt, 2019

Looking Forward, is a photo series of composite images taken in Cairo, Egypt, in the spring of 2019. the series superimposes images that were taken moments apart, juxtaposing a heritage site with the gaze of passers-by, gatekeepers, visitors and historically relevant figures – scenes taken moments apart. , The disruption of the representation of time and space, brings two distinct POVs intersect and become juxtaposed realities, the gaze which may mean everything, or nothing. Time and space are reframed within one image, drawing attention to our understanding of the medium of photography’s inherent ability to manipulate time and space – to preserve, and also to conceal.

Petite Maquette – Excerpt from Quilting the Memoir

Petite Maquette is a series of superimposed pattern designs drawn by my mother throughout her career as a pattern maker. Printed and stitched on cotton paper.

85 Ramses St. – Cairo Egypt 2019

What stories do these objects tell? 85 Ramses St. is the address in downtown Cairo to the film production office that belonged to my grandfather, Helmi Rafla, a pioneer film producer and director of Egyptian cinema’s Golden era.

85 Ramses St. is a photo series meshing together images of relics that sat collecting dust for more than five decades before recently being archived in the Special Collections Library at The American University in Cairo. Through the layering and juxtaposition of these objects, the series traces fragments of a cinematic history—one that moves between personal memory and the broader cultural legacy of Egyptian film.