Bahia’s publications are a mix between her research based artwork and historic documentation. Seeing history disappear in cities where she lived and grew up, she developed a sense of archival urgency to preserve, protect and document ideas, passing on the knowledge and ensuring it lives on.
Part visual history, part memoir, You Can Crush the Flowers is a chronicle of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and its aftermath, as it manifested itself not only in the art on the streets of Cairo but also through the wider visual culture that emerged during the revolution. Marking the ten-year anniversary of the revolution, celebrated Egyptian-Lebanese artist Bahia Shehab tells the stories that inspired both her own artwork and the work of her fellow revolutionaries. Shehab narrates the events of the revolution as they unfolded, describing on one hand the tactics deployed by the regime to drive protesters from the street—from the use of tear gas and snipers to brute force, intimidation techniques, and virginity tests—and on the other hand the retaliation by the protesters online and on the street in marches, chants, street art, and memes. Throughout this powerful and moving account, which includes two hundred and fifty images, Shehab responds to all these aspects of the revolution as both artist and activist. The result bears witness to the brutality of the regime and pays tribute to the protestors who bravely defied it.
The acknowledgement of graphic design as a field in the Arab world is limited only to the past twenty years. It is mainly founded on the need to adapt to the far- reaching changes in the economic, social and political environment. Up until now there has been no real comprehensive study or historical research on the topic to speak of. A History of Arab Graphic Design is meant to provide an overview of people and events that have been integral to the shaping of the field of graphic design in the region. The work of over eighty designers from Morocco to Iraq has been collected with more than forty contemporary designers interviewed. This is the first overview of design from the Arab region to emerge. It traces the development of design in the Arab world during the twentieth century. Starting with Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy and their impact on Arab visual culture up until the digital revolution. The book traces the origins of printing and typography in the Arab world and the impact that the different political, social and economic events have had on design. It highlights the work of key designers from the region and provides a solid reference on an under-researched and under-documented topic that is of vital importance not only for the upcoming generations of Arab designers but also for the international design community who might be interested in learning about the evolution of Arab visual culture. We hope the A History of Arab Graphic Design will place Arab visual culture and design on the map of a thriving international design discourse.
Lebanese-Egyptian street artist Bahia Shehab began taking to the streets during the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Since then, she has taken her peaceful resistance, using lines from Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, to the streets of the world, from New York to Tokyo, Amsterdam to Honolulu. This book documents not only Shehab’s striking artwork itself, but also the stories of the people she meets along the way, and her observations from the streets of each new city she visits. It is her artist manifesto, a cry for freedom and dignity, and a call to never stop dreaming.
When you want to deny all of the stereotypes that are imposed on you and that try to define your role in the world. When you want to reject almost every aspect of your reality. When you want to decline every political reality you live under. When you want to dismiss all of the options available to you. When you want to negate all the accusations that go hand in hand with your identity. When you want to refuse to be an imitator or follower of the West, yet you also refuse the regressive interpretation of your heritage. ‘A thousand Nos’ are not enough.
In Arabic to strongly confirm refusal, denial and rejection we say: “No! And a thousand times No!”.
This sentence started the quest for a thousand Nos (lam-alifs) from all over the Arab world, ancient and new, from Spain all the way to China, and through different significant historical periods.
In this book Bahia attempted to illustrate the journey of a single letter in time, space and across diverse cultures, in the hope of inspiring young designers and readers, and encouraging in them a sense of inventive playfulness and freedom in creation.