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Bieke Depoorter has traveled to Egypt regularly since the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. When permitted, she stayed overnight in the homes of Egyptian civilians and families, documenting their lives with an intimacy rarely offered to a stranger. Depoorter aimed to examine the impact that political events were having on individuals by portraying them in their homesthe only spaces not occupied by the riotswhere an illusion of normalcy was evident. She continued her project by constructing a book dummy and revisiting the families and individuals photographed, asking them to annotate and comment on the images themselves. The result captures a rare and candid dialogue between photographer and subject, while also exposing Egyptian life and creating a new understanding of the intersection between culture, religion, politics, and privacy in the country. In her first major publication, this Magnum photographer has depicted a population and culture in transition with integrity, commitment, and respect.
About the author
Bieke Depoorter joined Magnum Photos at the young age of twenty-five and became a full member in 2016. She received a master’s degree in photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent in 2009. She has won several awards for her documentary projects, including the Magnum Expression Award in 2009. Her previous publications include Ou Menya (2012) and I am about to call it a day (2014). Depoorter is based in Belgium.Ruth Vandewalle is a Belgian journalist and correspondent who has been working with Depoorter since 2011. Vandewalle is based in Cairo, Egypt.
Summary
Magnum photographer Bieke Depoorter has traveled to Egypt regularly since the beginning of the revolution in 2011, making intimate pictures of Egyptian families in their homes. In 2017, she revisited the country with the first draft of this book, inviting others to write comments directly onto the photographs. Contrasting views on country, religion, society, and photography arise between people who would otherwise never cross paths. The included booklet features all of the handwritten notes in the original Arabic as well as the English translations. As it may be depicts a population in transition with integrity, commitment, and respect.
