Cairo's Plaster Casts

Artisanal production in Cairo takes place in open-air workshops and directly on the street. Stucco producers in the city are grouped into clusters where interior walls and facades are covered with patterns and serve as a catalogue of ornaments. The result is often chaotic and grotesque. Decorative styles of the Belle Époque are deconstructed and reassembled as a spatial collage, while symbols from pop culture are juxtaposed with historical forms. In his photos, Luc Merx reveals these unique aesthetics and diverse references to building practice and art history. The plaster casts reflect Egypt’s contradictory relationship to its colonial past, to modernity, and to the country’s own identity