ADAPTATION JOURNEY

11 thof Jan. Till 5th of Feb.

The idea of the exhibition revolves around presenting a journey that has begun but has not yet ended. A journey that started when our family welcomed Bikiza and Taco.

Bakiza Hanem, a Persian cat, was brought by my mother out of compassion from a childhood friend. A frightened cat, escaping her original owners, who eventually found herself in our home. Circumstances surprised her with the arrival of a forty-five-day-old infant creature: Taco, “our beloved dog,” who came to us aboard a cargo plane crossing the desert. A dog born to a Russian father and a Ukrainian mother, gifted to my brother by one of his friends from the Holy Lands. Bakiza feels she is the lady of the house, with the entire universe revolving around her. A being full of self-pride; brave, light, and swift in movement. Most of the time she seems indifferent to all of us, yet her silence is cunning and her gaze sharp, as are her instincts. She does not allow anyone to approach her easily, and she perceives everything around her with precision.

Taco, in complete contrast, searches for any family member to take refuge in their warmth, clinging to the human body. He seeks protection even from the cat who has shared his food and shelter for so long. Taco, the glutton, is extremely timid and lazy, his movements dominated by slowness. He always makes you feel that no one cares for him enough, yet despite all this, he possesses a heart full of kindness and love.

Every night, Bakiza sleeps like a halo above my mother’s head, while Taco settles under my father’s legs in deep sleep, his loud breathing. And every morning and evening, the journey begins and ends among bodies, each trying to adapt to its own image through the other that unsettles it.

Artist : Yara Hatem

Curated By : Mahmoud Hamdi