Press Release No. 41

8 December 2009

A Caricature Exhibition at the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Cairo

(20-31 December 2009)

The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), Embassy of India, Cairo will be organising an exhibition of caricatures by Egyptian artists Mohsen Abul Azm and Adham Lutfi on Sunday, the 20 December, 2009 at its premises at 23, Talaat Harb Street, Down Town Cairo.

The exhibition will be inaugurated at 7 p.m. on 20 December by H.E Mr Hossam Nassar, the First Under Secretary of State for Foreign Cultural Relations Sector, Egyptian Ministry of Culture and H.E Mr R Swaminathan, Ambassador of India to Egypt. The exhibition will be on display till 31 December, 2009.

Entitled “India-Egypt: A Humorous Perspective of the Ordinary and the Extraordinary”, the exhibition will feature 22 portraits of famous Indian and Egyptian personalities from the world of politics, music, films and literature by caricaturist Adham Lutfi and 18 vignettes of social life in India and Egypt by Mohsen Abul Azm.

Artists Mohsen Abul Azm and Adham Lutfi are among the most gifted caricaturists in Egypt. They have worked in leading Egyptian newspapers and magazines including Al Masry El Youm, Akhbar El Youm and Rosel Youssef and have participated in several solo and group exhibitions inside and outside Egypt.

About his paintings, Artist Mohsen Abul Azm says, "I am inspired in my paintings about India by the close links binding the Indian and Egyptian civilizations, which have many things in common as well as the Indian films that I used to regularly watch when I was young. The paintings on display reflect the features of daily life and depict in detail social gatherings in both countries”. His paintings feature men and women going about their daily activities at home, at the bazaar, gossiping, etc.

Caricaturist Adham Lutfi comments, "I use caricature to make portraits of famous figures, as I seek to reflect certain features in their characters from an artistic perspective. It is like a presenting physiological analysis of their character. Among the figures I have portrayed from India are Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Amitabh Bachchan, from Egypt Naguib Mahfouz, Omar El Sharif and Ahmed Fouad Nejm."

For further details, please contact: The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, Tel: 23933396/23960071; Fax: 23936572; e-mail: macic@indembcairo.com