In the Shadow of the Pyramids.
Photography & Text by Laura El-Tantawy | Design by SYB | Self published edition of 500 | Signed & Numbered | Released 25/01/2015 | ISBN: 978-90-821066-1-9 | SOLD OUT
A first person account exploring memory and identity. With images spanning 2005 to 2014, what began as a look in the mirror to understand the essence of Egyptian identity expanded into an exploration of the trials & tribulations of a turbulent nation. The result is dark, sentimental and passionate. Juxtaposing the innocence of the past with the obscurity of the present, the book is an experience, edited to look like a one night’s encounter. A peaceful and tranquil day suddenly turns violent and chaotic, it’s claustrophobic, until a new dawn rises and there is hope again.
“The ‘Tahrir Square’ revolution, finally has a photobook to do it justice, in the shape of Laura El-Tantawy’s In the Shadow of the Pyramids.”
— Gerry Badger, 1000 Words
“Expressively powerful and searingly and authentically conflicted.”
— Loring Knoblauch, Collector Daily
“El-Tantawy’s book … tells the story of Tahrir Square but she also visualises a way of thinking and how that affects both herself and a people. And indeed all of us.”
— Colin Pantall, photo-eye
“Riveting, intimate, and spatially engaging testimony.”
— Rahaab Allana, The Photobook Review by Aperture
Experience “In the Shadow of the Pyramids” Online.
Press & Interviews:
Time Magazine “A Personal Exploration of Egypt's Turbulent Years” by Richard Conway.
1000 Words by Gerry Badger.
photo-eye by Colin Pantall.
Hatje Cantz “El-Tantawy’s Egyptian Journey” by Sue Steward.
Photomonitor “In the Shadow of the Pyramids” by Marc Prust.
Collector Daily by Loring Knoblauch.
The Photobook Review by Rahaab Allana.