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Hafez Gallery is delighted to announce the opening of Testimony of the Soil, a solo exhibition by Egyptian painter Ibrahim El-Dessouki, curated by Dr. Sara Raza, presenting at No.9 Cork Street during Frieze London.
Testimony of the Soil offers a powerful meditation on the relationship between land, power, and labor, explored through new and recent series of paintings inspired by history, cinema, and literature. At the heart of the exhibition is El-Dessouki’s new body of Cotton Flower paintings, which reflect on the legacies of Egypt’s Ottoman and colonial histories and their continued impact today. Loosely referencing Youssef Chahine’s landmark film Al Ard (1969), these works create a layered dialogue about memory, struggle, and witness.
The exhibition also features four interrelated bodies of work, cotton flowers, olive trees, cacti, and earth paintings, that explore themes of resilience, melancholy, endurance, and ecological devastation. Together, they form an allegorical landscape that testifies to both Egypt’s socio-political past and the urgent present.
Alongside the exhibition, a special public program will include curatorial walkthroughs, an in-conversation between the artist and curator, and a film screening of Al Ard. An illustrated catalogue with Dr. Raza’s curatorial essay accompanies the show
About the Artist Ibrahim El-Dessouki (b. 1969, Cairo) is a painter and former fine arts professor whose practice spans over three decades, bridging Egypt’s cultural heritage with international artistic traditions. His work co
mbines painterly inquiry with social and political reflections rooted in Egypt’s history.
About the Curator Dr. Sara Raza (b. 1979, London) is an award-winning global curator and author of Punk Orientalism: The Art of Rebellion. She has curated at leading international institutions including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tate Modern, and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. She is currently Artistic Director and Chief Curator of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Tashkent. Public Program
Oct 11 · Curatorial Walkthrough · 12:30 pm
Oct 11 · Artist Talk · 2:00–3:30 pm
Oct 15–18 · Exclusive Tours · 10:30 am
Oct 18 · Film Screening Al Ard · 10:00 am
Opening:
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Exhibition dates: October 9–25, 2025
Location: No.9 Cork Street, London W1S 3LL
Press Contacts Ms. Heba El Moaz: helmoaz@hafezgallery.com Ms. Kenza Zouari: kenza@hafezgallery.com