Triple Exposure

[A man raises his hands in prayer during the storming of Rabaa al-Adaweya Square. A man covers his face with a scarf during a pro-Islamist march in Helwan. A helicopter flies over Tahrir Square during the 25 January 2011 commemorations in 2014. Photo by Hamada Elrasam.] [A man raises his hands in prayer during the storming of Rabaa al-Adaweya Square. A man covers his face with a scarf during a pro-Islamist march in Helwan. A helicopter flies over Tahrir Square during the 25 January 2011 commemorations in 2014. Photo by Hamada Elrasam.]

Triple Exposure

By : Hamada Elrasam

During the wave of uprisings and resulting crackdowns on Islamists in Egypt in 2013, all the media outlets were accused of taking sides. “When you point a camera to a side you neglect the rest of the real scene,” a protester said to me. “People are following those media outlets that confirm what is already in their minds, not to get new information!” he added.

For this project, I have been shooting many events related to the latest waves of the uprising in Egypt including the police storming of the pro-Morsi sit-in at Rabaa al-Adaweya Square in August 2013 and the resulting massacre of over 800 people. I also photographed the celebrations of the removal of President Morsi from power in July 2013, the 2014 commemorations of the initial 25 January 2011 uprising, and various protests and marches. I also covered the constitutional referendum, the presidential election process, and the trials of Islamists.

I layered three exposures into each picture for several reasons. I faced a dilemma of how to depict the atrocity of the massacre in Rabaa without objectifying the suffering individuals. By juxtaposing multiple images I refrain from depicting what would be an unbearable concentration on just one face or scene. This method also enables me to create a visual noise that reflects the absence of any clear perspective on what really happened in Rabaa

Sisi Mania in Photos

Expressions of support for former army chief and the presumed presidential election winner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have reached new heights during the lead-up to the 26-28 May 2014 vote. His name and image can be found on billboards all over the buildings, posters plastered on the walls coffee shops, and photos on display at street vendors’ stands.

As I covered the elections over the course of the past week in Cairo, I encountered pro-military songs everywhere—coffee shops, driving cars, public transportation, television, outside of polling stations, and even inside of them. Most notably, one could hear the loud tunes of "tislam al-ayyadi" (blessed be the hands), a song that glorifies Sisi`s ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013.

Meanwhile, there were no signs of posters or billboards of Sisi’s challenger Hamdeen Sabahi. Official election results are due on 5 June 2014, but unofficial vote counts indicate that Sisi is the clear winner.