Seaside Shadows

Solo Exhibition by Bassam Ihab

November 30 - December 22, 2022

The Photographic Gallery, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, organized Seaside Shadows, a solo exhibition by Egyptian documentary photographer Bassam Ihab.

What does photography set on the beach conjure up in our imagination? Pleasant memories depicting relaxing, fun, socializing and most obviously, holidays. In the project, Seaside Shadows, Ihab takes us on a somewhat different visual exploration of life alongside the Corniche in Alexandria.

The exhibition features stark black and white photographs enhanced by contrast and shadow, as Ihab presents us with a dramatized vision of beach life in Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh. In many ways, the art of photography can be described as transforming the every day and the photographer captures his subjects in absurd, if not, odd poses in spontaneous compositions to turn the quotidian into works of art. Some images take a voyeuristic vantage point showing the humorous side of Egyptian life and the fascinating ways people behave on the beach. Seaside Shadows makes us rethink these social spaces differently with fresh eyes and appreciate the potential of documentary photography to see the world anew.

Curated by

Dina ElDeeb, curator, The Photographic Gallery

Bassam Ihab

Bassam Ihab, born in Al-Buhaira, Egypt in 1995, is a documentary photographer, currently based in Cairo.  Ihab founded the Egypt Street Photography Club (E.S.P.C.), a popular Facebook group dedicated to giving exposure to Egyptian photographers, and is a member of the African Photojournalism Database (APJD). He participated in multiple international photography competitions, including the Hamdan International Photography Award (HIPA), where he was a finalist in 2017, and the Addis Foto Fest (AFF) in 2018. His work has been exhibited in Egypt, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Ukraine and Greece.