Words & Images by Malak El Sawi

Interview by Athena Abdien

What inspires you as a DJ, Art Director, Creative, Stylist and Photographer?

So many things, but more recently I’ve started to realize that problem-solving is a big part of what informs my practice. I often try to gauge what is missing in something and how I can offer a sense of completion from my point of view with my skills or knowledge. So for example when I approached DJing in Cairo, I wanted to offer a sound that I enjoyed that I felt wasn’t available in the music scene. The same with my photography. When I first moved back to Egypt, I wanted to create images that healed the dichotomy between our identity as Egyptians and what we viewed as fashionable — then for example it became about trying to tighten the division between how we represent ourselves in private vs. in public.

Why did you pursue image-making?

It was a bit of a rough start to be honest. Image-making was like the bestfriend it took me a while to realise I was in love with. Originally I wanted to be a designer but over time it became clear I thought more vividly in images. I have been shooting since I was very young and I thought the fact that it came somewhat naturally meant that it was easy, and I didn’t want what was easy. There was a big debate in my head. Do I do what I want or what I'm good at? I was at Central Saint Martin’s at the time and they kept pushing me in the direction of photography and away from design. That made me really sad so I tried many other things and I still wasn’t sure all the way until I moved back to Cairo. That’s when I made a photography Instagram and put all my work on there. It was the first time I looked at all my images next to each other, and I remember thinking ‘damn, I really am a photographer.’ That was a long overdue defining moment.

How did the process of creating images for your Cairo Kids Editorial and Geneina Grotto series come to be?

Interestingly those were two different processes. Sometimes projects are the sum of moving parts that come together step by step. Cairo Kids is an example of that. I was working within a team that had many overarching themes and I was in charge of choosing the locations and setting up the image. Those weren't decided until the very last minute when they were all dressed. I tried to figure out which location would fit the overall story the team and I wanted to tell. The story was about the feeling of belonging and not belonging simultaneously. We used a little bus to drive us around Cairo and we took the images quickly because back then street photography still wasn’t fully legal.

Geneina Grotto was quite different. It was more straight-forward and pre planned. For a little while I was obsessed with the model Zeina who was a fresh face and I wanted to shoot her in the Aquarium Grotto Garden, which was a very strange, somewhat forgotten park in Cairo. I kept daydreaming about it until eventually I had a clear image for the styling brief. Initially it was a preppy 90’s does 70's vibe that I developed with stylist Ahmed Sorour who I really love working with. The shoot ended up looking very similar to the moodboard and I think we just wanted to do something a little fun.

*Cairo Kids Editorial, Semsem* © Malak El Sawi

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

Some sort of fashion history class probably. I’m really into how fashion is informed by and informs culture. A lot of people think it’s just clothes but it’s so much deeper than that.

What was the last book you read you saw that resonated with you?

Second Place by Rachel Cusk is my favourite piece of fiction I’ve come across recently. The author has a way of writing about the world that is very detailed, analytical and harsh. It’s quite funny in a way but it also feels like she’s being completely serious. It’s a story about a middle aged woman who invites her favourite artist to stay at her family's cottage in rural France to make paintings. He accepts but when he arrives she realizes she doesn’t really like him as a person.