Mudhakkirat Inji Aflatun (Kuwait: Dar Su’ad al-Sabah, 1993). Excerpts taken ‘From the memories of Inji Aflatun (excerpt); rear. I was fascinated by a tree that was near the barbed wire - I’d paint it in every season, and such meticulous attention to a single object taught me a lot. Inji was, as surrealist Egyptian writer George Henein beautifully puts - ‘Setting up her imaginary world around a bird of dreams and the heavy weight of the void.’. I’d wait until a painting had dried, then I’d remove the canvas from the wooden stretcher and give it to one of the wardens who would wrap it around her body under her clothes. Inji Efflatoun, 'Dreams of the Detainee,' 1961 Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm. Inji Efflatoun in her studio in Hassan Sabry St., Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, Courtesy Safarkhan Art Gallery. Key artists include Gazbia Sirry (b. It was also during a time artistically when artists debated how currents of European Surrealism were to be incorporated within the stylistic and conceptual local Cairo art scene. Now if I see someone’s weakness, I accept it’” (1). Seeing the wind in the sails stirred many sorrows in me, and sparked an uncontrollable desire for freedom.. To access Inji EFFLATOUN's auction records, you need to log in and have a subscription. Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation. How to smuggle the paintings out of the prison? Efflatoun 79' (en bas à gauche) aquarelle, encre et feutre sur papier 31 x 44,6 cm. As she noted “Prison was a very enriching experience for my development as a human being and artist. “Egyptian Painter Inji Efflatoun: The Merging of Art, Feminism, and Politics.” NWSA Journal, vol. Notable works of this time include ‘Young Girl and Monster’ which depicts a frightened girl running while being chased by a vulture along with trees that symbolized as she states ‘people who were suffering, and representing dreams and spirits.’ (2) Inji would eventually become one of the first women to study in the art department of the University of Cairo in 1945. Inji was in every sense a rebel noted equally as a women’s rights activist (even going undercover at one point as a peasant) as she was a talented painter rising to fame in the midst of World War II—all while keeping herself fashionably dressed and coiffed! From Barjeel Art Foundation, Inji Efflatoun, The Prisoners (1957), Oil on canvas, 42 × 29 cm So much was she enthralled with the Egyptian society, she refused her mother’s request to finish her fine art studies in Paris stating ‘It was very tempting to go to a good academy, but I refused completely. In Sa’id Khayyal, ed. May 11, 2017 - The Safarkhan Gallery pays tribute to a key figure in modern Egyptian art history, reviving rebel and artist Inji Efflatoun (1924-1989) in the January show, A Life in Struggle She was imprisoned for 4½ years between June 1959 and July 1964. اعتُقلت أفلاطون خلال حكم جمال عبد الناصر بعد صدور مرسوم يسمح باعتقال النساء المشاركات في الحراك السياسي، وتعكس لوحاتها في السجن الظروف القاسية التي كانت تعيشها. Works garnered titles such as You are Divorced (1952), The Fourth Wife, and We Will Not Forget (1951). Munira Al-Kazi, Untitled (Crucifixion) Haguette Caland, Body Parts. Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. As a woman artist practicing in the mid 1900s, her talents solidified a strong female artistic movement along with other female painters practicing during this time. Inji Efflatoun (1924-1989) A prolific figure of Arab modernism is the Cairo-born painter and political activist Inji Efflatoun. Inji Efflatoun. The breadth of Inji Efflatoun’s artwork embraces socialist literature, surrealism, feminism and political activism. Some of the doctors also helped me because they were not subject to inspection.. One of the most important subjects I painted from inside the prison was Inshirah, who had been sentenced to death, but her execution had been postponed for one year until her child was weaned. Hamed Nada. Ultimately she received authorization to paint with the help of her sister Boulie (who also would be imprisoned) and ultimately smuggled her precious works outside and shared them with other artists for critique by those such as Tahia Halim, Angelo de Riz (Italian, b. When I asked to paint her, the director [of the prison] told me that it would be very depressing. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 Inji Efflatoun received a strict catholic education before studying at the French Lycée in Cairo, where she became familiar with Marxism. There was one warden who was particularly good at smuggling: we called her ‘the express train.’ She would deliver the paintings to my sister in return for a sum of money. Skip to end of content. Skip to beginning of content. It’s been an overwhelming sensation to face the fact that we will survive these next moments, however long they last, indefinitely, indoors and in my case, in silence, save for the chitter-chatter of my thoughts ricocheting within me. In Abdul Hadi El Gazzar’s Two People in Space Outfits, a figure stares back at the viewer with a solemn look.He is wearing a large, round headpiece that the painter seems to suggest is an astronaut’s helmet. Image courtesy of Art Talks, Egypt. BARJEEL ART FOUNDATION Mailing Address Emirates Sail Tower, Level 4P Corniche Street, Buhairah Corniche Buhairah Corniche Al Majaz 3, Sharjah +971 6 569 1112 Poem Title: I Did Not Steal The Cloud. Image courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd. Inji Efflatoun, 'Contemplation,' c. 1940s Ink on paper, 18.5 x 24.2 cm. Inji Efflatoun, Expectation, c. 1940s, Ink on paper, 12 x 21 cm. That’s over 4 years of dealing with quarantine in prison life - but she lived to tell the story, keeping artistically stimulated amidst the isolating circumstances, and attributing this time to her greater self-discoveries— as illustrated very vividly with biting humor in her post-mortem memoir (and quoted from the artist in beautiful detail in the last few paragraphs of this post). (Interestingly enough, on the account that one of the most famous modern Egyptian painters Mahmoud Saïd (1897-1964) saw Inji’s early illustrations produced for her older sister Gulperie (known as Boulie) and he urged her mother for Inji to receive lessons!). A post shared by All Creations Together (@allcreationstogether) on Jan 30, 2019 at 2:06pm PST 479 & 483). It was here she witnessed the harsh realities of prison life - of women behind bars in filthy cells undergoing horrific treatment, each in their own way representing and subject to their own social tragedy. Title: Ahlam Almuetaqala (Dreams of the Detainee) Creator: Inji Efflatoun; Location: Egypt; Physical Dimensions: 45 x 50 cm; Medium: Oil on canvas 56. After she met intellectual and feminist Sayza Nabarawi in 1950, Efflatoun joined the Youth Committee of the Egyptian Feminist Union. It is, of course, a beekeeper's suit, which his companion wears, too. Inji Efflatoun (Egypt, 1924-1989) Dreams of the Detainee, 1961, oil on canvas, 45 x 50 cm. While Inji Efflatoun’s life was marked by phases of color and agony, her paintings vibrate with the spirit of revolution. Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. She then studied one year under the Swiss artist Margo Veillon and later with the studio painter Hamed Abdallah (1917-1985). ⓘ Inji Aflatoun. ; 20 1/8 by 17 3/4 in. Inji Aflatoun was an Egyptian painter and activist in the womens movement. Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, After some time I lost the desire to paint the prison and its inmates — the whole place disgusted me. Mona Hatoum, Witness. Saliba Douaihy. Key artists of this group include Ramses Younan (1913-1966), Fouad Kamel (1919-1973) and Georges Henein (1914-1973) who produced work with a ‘shock value’ that emphasized the harsh realities of the time. Farid Belkahia. Egypt, at the turn of the last century, was in the strange and unenviable position of being occupied and governed from abroad by … Art and Liberty, 1941. Welcome to ‘The Quarantine Files’ series —where we chronicle the hours, days, weeks and eventually months of our time incubating indoors and channeling our short bursts of creativity. May 12, 2018 – May 30, 2023. Finding the extraordinary in the most mundane and trivial surroundings in her jail cell, Inji captured the sheer tragic yet poignant moments behind prison bars - whether it was in painting an inmate and learning her telling story, or finding the simple and beautiful nature through the small windows or atop the prison’s roof overlooking the Nile river. Front row, left to right: Jean Moscatelli, Kamel el Telmissany, Angelo de Riz, Ramses Younan, Fouad Kamel. (12¼ x 17½ in.) Untitled (Fishing Boats) Inji Efflatoun, 'Motherhood,' c. 1950s oil on wood, 75 x 47 cm. Exécuré en 1979. A Century in Flux: Highlights from the Barjeel art Foundation. She published numerous political pamphlets, such as  Eighty Million Women With Us (1948) and We Egyptian Women (1949). Courtesy of the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah, Inji Efflatoun, 'Motherhood,' c. 1950s oil on wood, 75 x 47 cm. In the political arena, she published several poplar manifestos with a group of women to support women’s rights and peace, and became one of the founding members of the League of University and Institutes’ Young Women along with actively participating in the Women’s Committee for Popular Resistance. 474–485. Courtesy Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. 1940. As the amazing story of Inji unfolds in my below post, let’s take a visual snapshot of her confinement while we are in self-isolation too; instead she was cramped for four years in a depressing overcrowded ward amidst a group of anxious and depressed women. Inji Efflatoun 'ahlam almuetaqala (Dreams of the Detainee) LOT SOLD.68,750GBP. Inji Efflatoun (1924 - 1989 Cairo) Portrait of a Prisoner 1960 Oil on canvas mounted on hardboard 30.5 x 24 cm MAT.2013.16.32 نوطلافأ يجنإ ةرهالا١٩٨٩- ١٩٢٤(ةنيجسل هيرتروب ١٩٦٠ حول ىلع ة Øصلم شامق ىلع ةيتيز ناولأ دلص مس ٢٤ ×3٠،٥ 2013.16.32 Inji Efflatoun The clock ticks (rather the digital nanoseconds click), the mornings, however long or short they become now, turn to night either too quickly or begrudgingly slow. During her incarceration, Efflatoun’s paintings captured the grim … Inji Efflatoun, Mathbahat Dinshaway (The Dinshaway Massacre), c. 1950s, ink on paper, 63.5 × 49.3cm. Page 1 of 1. As hungry as we’ve become for nature-filled walks with greenery and endless ocean waves (as I type from my apartment views of a concrete jungle in Dubai), we’re adapting to alternative modes of intellectual and social nutrition and embracing our inner poet, journalist, cinephile and painter-self within our four walls. She was eighteen years old, and was taking part in the third exhibition of Independent Art held at the Continental Hotel in Cairo organized by the surrealist collective known as al-Fann wa-l-Hurriyya or the Art and Liberty Group. I began to paint what nature there was behind bars, as we did have some gardens, trees and flowers. Inji Efflatoun, Dreams of the Detainee. BARJEEL ART FOUNDATION Mailing Address Emirates Sail Tower, Level 4P Corniche Street, Buhairah Corniche Buhairah Corniche Al Majaz 3, Sharjah +971 6 569 1112 Lot # 27 Untitled (Feloukas on the Nile) (1968) Painting, Oil/canvas, 23 3/4 x 28 7/8 in 60.2 x 73.5 cm. 1, no. EGYPTIAN 'AHLAM ALMUETAQALA (DREAMS OF THE DETAINEE) Stima. Collection of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah. While Inji Efflatoun’s life was marked by phases of color and agony, her … 236-44. Inji Efflatoun, ‘Portrait of a Prisoner’ 1960. Bestiaire (Bestial) LOT SOLD.65,000GBP. Rateb Seddik, ‘Liliane Brook et son orchestre aveugle,’ ca. In 1959 she went undercover disguised as a peasant under the Gamal Abdel Nasser regime as the communist party and Egyptian socialist movement was being outlawed. Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online. Selected Artwork: Inji Efflatoun, Dreams of the Detainee, 1961. egyptian 'ahlam almuetaqala (dreams of the detainee) signed and dated Inji Efflatoun '62 oil on canvas laid on board 51 by 45cm. Because of the dates of these two paintings, The Queue (1960) and Trees Behind the Wall (c. 1960s), Inji Efflatoun presumably painted them during her incarceration as a political prisoner in Egypt (1959–63). 1900s), among others. 28. Inji’s self-isolation experience was dealt not by a massive epidemic like we find ourselves today, but in her incarceration in Egypt from 1959-1963. Efflatoun recounts in her memoirs “From my childhood to prison,” how her ultimate source of happiness in her childhood was when she was painting. During Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime, she was arrested under a decree authorising the detention of women taking part in political activism. Inji Efflatoun was born in 1924 to a wealthy family from Cairo’s French-speaking aristocracy. While awaiting Inshirah’s execution, I felt the massive tragedy of her story, as she had killed and stolen under the pressure of extremely harsh conditions and overwhelming misery. Safia Farhat, The … (Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.) Biography Inji Efflatoun was an artist and political activist born into an upper-class francophone family of landowners in 1924. Inji Efflatoun Born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1924; died in Cairo in 1989.. Many of these women used their art to raise political and social consciousness in the wake of the country developing a national identity. (quote pp. She was tall, self-assured, and fashionably dressed; it was difficult to envision her in prison attire.' Shows Featuring Inji Efflatoun. The story of the Egyptian modern artist Inji Efflatoun (1924-1989) is one of bravery, perseverance and ingenuity—sprinkled with humor and wit. Her work in both spheres has left a lasting impact on generations of artists and Egyptian feminists and social activists; and as articulated in her manifestos along with her depictions that honor the everyday humble Egyptians and beautiful rural landscapes. Her surrealist works often depicted atypical compositions of a young suffering girl trying to escape and discover herself, liberating from the social, patriarchal and colonial burdens of the time. Her paintings often draw on the daily struggles of Egypt’s working class. Image courtesy of Centre Pompidou. Inji Efflatoun, Portrait of a Prisoner, c. 1960, oil on canvas, 29 x 41 cm, Courtesy Safarkhan Art Gallery. 2. I was worried they’d discover how we were smuggling them out, as this could result in my being completely banned from painting - a right that I had won only by a miracle. If I’d be outside the prison I never would have painted just that one tree. While her work grew politically, her paintings in parallel became more politically engaged. An entire exhibition wing holds eleven of her poignant paintings. Inji Efflatoun, Portrait of a Fellaha, c. 1960, oil on canvas, 50 x 70 cm, Courtesy Safarkhan Art Gallery. Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online. Inji Efflatoun, 'Dreams of the Detainee,' 1961 Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm. Inji Efflatoun, Dreams of the Detainee, 1961, Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm. In the early decades of this century, Moslem custom kept upper- (Image courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.) Despite these miserable conditions and fears, Inji maintained a sense of hope and logic: she improved in her artistic style, cultivated a sense of camaraderie with her fellow inmates, and even developed a pseudo art business smuggling her paintings out of the prison— thereby keeping a small but central link to the outside artistic world. With five or ten years of Parisian study I would be a better artist, but I would know nothing of my country, and then it would be too late. View additional info Despite the conditions, Inji was eager to continue painting, going at lengths to secure permission to paint amidst strict censorship enforcement that was eventually lifted. , 'The inji efflatoun dreams of the detainee, ' c. 1950s Oil on wood, 75 x 47 cm literature, surrealism feminism... Kamel El Telmissany, Angelo de Riz, Ramses Younan, Fouad Kamel judged! “ prison was a very enriching experience for my development as a human being and artist political activities Zaar Gazbia... 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