Justice 2016

Curator: Wow, it's like a chariot race through time. Editor: It is a rush, isn't it? What we have here is Alaa Awad's "Justice" created in 2016. It is primarily executed in acrylic paint. What grabs you first about this piece? Curator: The frenetic energy, definitely. So many figures, wheels turning, animals leaping. It’s a mad dash, but for what? I wonder if Justice here is running away from something. Or towards something? Editor: Well, when you look closer, you notice that it blends recognizable figures from ancient Egyptian iconography with a street art aesthetic, a layering of cultural memory if you will. Look at those figures with their distinctive profiles, reminiscent of pharaohs and gods, placed in this modern urban context. The animals recall hieroglyphs, symbolic messengers. Perhaps Justice here is an amalgamation of historical pursuit with a very contemporary urgency. Curator: That urban setting—the slightly rough application of paint, the almost chaotic composition—makes it feel incredibly relevant, doesn't it? There’s something raw about it. A really interesting mashup between the formal grandeur of Egyptian art and a more immediate, visceral mode of expression. But what’s really striking me now is the potential subversiveness – how the mural confronts the idea of "Justice" itself within the framework of urban reality and ancient legacy. Editor: It certainly poses questions about what endures. Ancient symbols reused as modern-day emblems or as commentary. Notice the prominent use of animals—horses of course, traditionally associated with power, but also birds, soaring between these different worlds. The symbolism here serves to almost bridge the historical and the contemporary, doesn’t it? The old and the new… what is lost in translation, and what gets amplified? Curator: Right, those visual cues pull you into a space where the past and present are totally blurred and maybe where this whole notion of "justice" is being reimagined or questioned entirely. I find that exhilarating. Editor: Absolutely. It's a provocative piece, creating a compelling visual space that really lingers. Curator: Definitely food for thought. Thanks for untangling some of that with me!