Nouran Sherif www.nouransherif.com A Visual -Audio artist and interior designer, born on 1990, Graduated from the faculty of applied arts 2012. Her artwork varies from Sound, Video, paintings, installations, and performance.
After experimenting in several art projects she found that Video is one of the mediums she can use to express her ideas the most, then she became more interested in experimental videos with surrealistic concepts which merge the reality, imagination and symbols all together.
Recently she is trying to find a way to merge interior design with her art projects and try to create a whole new product or direction.
Exhibitions: Official selection in ALFILM – Arab Film Festival in Berlin Video name: “Home” – Germany – 2015 Selection in Äkkigalleria 32 exhibition in Jyväskylä- Finland Video name:“Home” – Finland – 2015 Official selection in the University art gallery (Swanee-The university of the south) -Video name: “Home” – USA – 2015 Official selection in the International Independent Film Festival of Villa Leyva, Colombia – Video section,Video name: “Home” – Colombia – 2014 Official selection in the International Independent Film Festival of Villa Leyva, Colombia – Video section,Video name: “Home” – Colombia – 2014 Official selection in 5th Edition of Samples-Mexico: TelekinesisVideo Shared Actions “ International video festival-Video name: “Home” – Mexico – 2014 Official selection in 27th Festival Les Instants Vidéo : « For a free circulation of bodies and desires » in “Friche la Belle de Mai Marseille “ Video name: “Home” – France – 2014 Official selection in Video Art Festival Miden Video name: “Home” – Greece – 2014 Official selection in the 6th Cairo Video festival for Video Art & Experimental films,Video name: “Home” – Egypt – 2014 Selection in “Interruption” Exhibition in Townhouse Gallery – Downtown - Cairo-Video name: “Home” – Egypt – 2014 - Participated in the 24rd youth saloon Exhibition, with a collaborative art-work with another artist, The Video won “the Salon Prize”*12.2013 - Group exhibition (Fair usage) at Arthropologie art space (Video-art) 09.2013 - Duet Exhibition at Saad Zaghlol cultural center-Bait el omma museum, for the Video ( Ended with Failure) 5.2013 -Audio track in response for a painting in the Exhibition (what are you doing, Drawing?) Exhibited with the painting in the exhibition 3.2013 Video screening event at 10 Mahmoud bassiouny for the video project Ended with Failure 3.2013 - Group exhibition at the anniversary exhibition of Nabta art foundation 3.2013 (Video art) -Live Audiovisual performance at Medrar for contemporary art 01.2013 -Group Life sound performance at 100 copies music space 12.2012 -Participated in the 23rd youth saloon (Video art) 11.2012 -Live Audiovisual performance at Egyptian females Experimental Music session at 100 copies music space 10.2012 -Live Sound performance at Darb 1718 “opening of Basiony’s Exibition” 9.2012 -Participated at the International Contemporary Fabrikart Group Festival, MustafaPasa, Turkey (Video art) 7.2012 - Group exhibition at applied arts college main hall (Painting-Overprint-
Video art) 7.2012 -participated at al tala’e art competition (Photography) 5.2012 - Group exhibition at Mattress Factory museum, Pennsylvania, USA (Video art-Sound art) 2.2012 -Live performance at the Mattress Factory museum, Pennsylvania, USA 2.2012 -Participated at the 22nd youth Saloon (Video art) 11.2011 - Group exhibition at sawy cultural wheel 25th Jan revolution (photography) 2011 - Group exhibition of the 4th photography competition of El sawy cultural wheel 2011 -Live performance with group artists at Cairo atelier 2011 - Group exhibition at van Gogh (mixed media) 2010 - Group exhibition at Opera house (mixed media-photography) 2010 - Group exhibition at Cairo atelier (mixed media work-photography) 2010 - Group exhibition at Ahmed Shawky museum (Sound art (audio walk))9. 2010 - Group exhibition at Darb 1718 (Installation-Sound art) 8.2010 - Group exhibition at el sawy cultural wheel (photography) 2010 -Live Sound performance at college of art education 2010 -Group exhibition at applied arts college main hall (Mixed media) 2009
Directed Work shops: - Experimental sound art workshop for visual artists”3”, took place in the Faculty of Applied Arts - Helwan University, Introducing the students to sound in general, sound art, experimental sound art, sound installations, sound software, sound recording, sound waves and it’s shape, sound layers, retuning ears, help them to know how to make a sound art work. (02.2014) - Experimental sound art workshop for visual artists”2”, took place in anthropology art space, it had the same content of the first workshop (11.2013) - Experimental sound art workshop for visual artists, 6 sessions to introduce them to sound in general, sound art, experimental sound art, sound installations, sound software, sound recording, sound waves and it’s shape, sound layers, retuning ears, help them to know how to make a sound art work. The workshop took place at 10 mahmoud bassiony art space, 17 artist attended (visual artists-photographers-musicians-art studentsfilmmakers)(05.2013)
Work shops: - Sound art workshop with Camelia Jubran and Verner Hasler at “100 copies music space” 12.2012 - Sound art work shop “Dubplate recording” at “100 copies music space” 12.2012 - Multimedia on stage work shop “Aljazera art center” 5.2012 - Firefly Tunnels (http://fireflytunnels.net/) “Artup Foundation” 2.2012 -Video installation workshop at “art Ellewa” 11.2011 -Media hacking workshop in “Ahmed Shawky museum” 9.2010 - The 10th experimental media art workshop (Sound Art, Animation) “The faculty of art education” With Ahmed Basiony 7.2010 - Performance art workshop at mahmod mokhtar museum 4.2010 - Photography workshops 2010.2011
Video&Audio
911 (In progress) This Experimental Video was supposed to be a documentary movie about my trip with 2 other Egyptian artists to USA, but while working on the video I’ve discovered things that I didn’t notice before then unexpected questions and answers led to changing the video into a self-portrait showing me how I was and how I became before and after travelling and the secret effect of the revolution that I’ve known lately, the video was a bit shocking to me because I see it got a twisted end.
A journey with 2 other artists to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, talking about the new daily life I’ve got, the dream of travelling, the unusual thing happened there led to calling 911till coming back to Egypt and wishing to go back there and thinking about every possible way for that. In the video I was trying to get some answers to many questions I was asking myself, like why didn’t I feel like a stranger there? And why I always miss the place that I’ve only stayed in for 2 weeks and dreaming of going back? Why didn’t I mind dying there? What is the strange connection bounded me to that place. But during working on that video it turned to be a self-portrait, the questions got more questions than answers, and the other questions led me to know answers for many things I wanted to know that is not even related to that journey or that video, and it turned out to be a self-discovery that I never knew how it will end. The video is consisting of 2 sequences, the first for the real things happened when we called 911 and the state that we didn’t understand what’s happening and how we should act, the other sequence is an ambient visuals accompanied with narration.
Home 12/2013 A one shot self portrait vedio, collaborative work with “Muhammad Taymour” my fiancée and a film maker, the video is about us and the shape of our life together and what we face as 2 artists together, started preparing since last April Screened at the 24th Yourth Saloon at the Opera House – Won the Saloon Prize Duration: 8 mins Link : https://vimeo.com/82339190 Password: babaghanoug
A one shot self-portrait about 2 engaged young artists, and the shape of their life. Between them there might be some misunderstandings and difficulty in communication, these things happen between any couple which has no significant
relation with how much they love each other, it just happens in the everyday life details they live in their home. He might answer her questions which she asked hours or months ago and she might comment on suggestions he said minutes and days ago. Each one answer, comment, and talk in his own mysterious world, which creates temporary cases of misunderstanding in their Home. Home is the place you search to settle down, to get shelter, and be protected from any unwanted outer effects, all these things won’t be found between walls. The real home is the partner who will shelter you anywhere you travel, she is his home and he is hers. Inspired by: RenÊ Magritte – David Lynch
Ended with Failure 02/2013 A three parts video project, collaborative work with Rami abadir a musician, where the concept was common, Nouran did the videography, video editing, the sound mixing, vocal recording and Rami made the music and the music mastering. Started working on it from 02/2012 to 02/2013. Screened at 10 Mahmoud Bassiouny art space on 13/03/2013. Duration: 26 mins Link : https://vimeo.com/64963563 Password: ended Part 1: That’s Why I Talked
Part 2 : To the void
Part 3: Consistency‌
Sometimes what we encounter in our lives lead us to endure a hard and deep thinking that direct us to other areas either intellectual or intellectual and physical at the same time, then attempts to find a shelter or exit get started to reach a result, and always the searches to find the best continue could lead us to a positive or a negative outcome, We are most of the time manipulate by the events, trying to face them and overcome them through a mixture of hope and disappointment, faith in a concept and disbelief in another. Talking would be the most significant mean to express our own feelings or our reality. The "Word" is the way that can change our current status but most sometimes temporarily, and then we are back to face the reality's final word, and hence we are obliged to follow it and face it, sometimes with a defensive way supported by the spirit of optimism to confront it, others can see it the courage in confronting the reality and live with its contradictions, frustrations and few moments of hope. At the end the result is the same, to fall to the bottom of the choking reality, and to face desperate unsuccessful attempts aiming to find some consolation to give us a boost to live with the reality. However, these attempts never work if they are not more than pain-killers and sedatives methods, and false images to deceive ourselves to live the fact of reality. This is not a call for optimism or pessimism, but it is "an attempt" to live with a shocking reality free of aspirations, expectations and even any dreams, or may be to fight this reality, filtrate it and stand against it through nonstop attempts, some of them Ended With Failure.
Exit to Enter 8/2012 A solo art work, I did the videography, directing, and the sound track. Exhibited at Youth Saloon 2012 Duration: 1 minute and a half Link: https://vimeo.com/55160655
Sometimes the only way to get out from a certain situation/place is to build a maze to insure for you to exit without being followed, BUT Being the one who designed that maze does not guarantee that you can exit whenever you want. And when it is a group of people who does not even know each other design that maze the exit process becomes almost impossible, But nobody thinks about that while designing it, or nobody think who may have shared the design to ruin it or to make it more complicated. So it ends up that you, we find ourselves stuck in a maze and whenever we find an exit door we find that it is nothing but another way to re-enter the same maze. So each time you try to exit you just enter The Question here, Is it a must that we have to keep trying to find the real exit door? Is the only way to give up? If the only solution is to keep trying, what is/are the mistake(s) that we should avoid? Do we have to build a new maze to exit?
The Loop 7/2012 A video project, the video data is divided into 2 parts, first part I collected it throught the internet “the protests”, and I shoot the second part “Tanoura”, The sound work is original track for the video. ( This video haven’t been exhibited yet) Duration: 4 mins Link for the video: https://vimeo.com/58094909 Password: looping
Since the early beginning of the revolution some events and actions started happening was new at that time we were shocked and surprised by it, Paradoxically this started to be the normal after that and we all got very used to it, yes protesters will be killed yes they will be injured yes...... after wards what happened that that was denied and the investigations said police and army didn't use weapons and as if all of that didn't happen "although it was still happening" The relation between the Tahrir square's Circle and the protesters using it as the way to get a solution was for me very simillar to The "Tanoura dance", The dancer starts
looping and looping and physically he is at his place nothing new is happening but in his mind there is many things happening and he is feeling that they are really happening, it appeared to me as if the protesters are the dancer who is hoping and visualizing things that no body but him is seeing, The second connection came from how I see the Tanoura dancer in pain with 4 or 5 men around him is beating the Douf "like the drums but oriental" as if they are happy with his pain and enjoying it like when a huge number of soldiers get around a protester and start beating and enjoying his pain. so what we get is looping in the circle of tahrir or whatever other places without getting anything done or solved, and if something is done another things get worth.
Beauty is not Beautiful 10/2012 An Audio-visual art project , The sound work was a collaborative work with Ola Saad who is a sound artist, We did the sound together then I did the video work. Exhibited at 100 copies music space, as a life performance 10/2012 Exhibited at Medrar for contemporary arts, as a life performance 01/2013 Duration: 4 mins Link for the Audio: https://soundcloud.com/nouran-sherif/beauty-is-notbeautiful
The definition of Beauty is located in your own brain & eyes, it’s so hard to say if this thing is beautiful or not it just depends on your personal "experience" with this thing. No doubt that our culture is an important controller of that definition but there the memory and experience which we gained through our life are another major controllers which can cancel the first one, sometimes certain things happens to us changes the way we see things called beautiful, your personnel experience modify the way you see “beauty” may be beauty won’t be beautiful any more, or maybe it will be more beautiful, may be ugliness will be beautiful!
Number 9 9/2012 A background visual for an electronic music track did by Rami abadir. Screened at the album release concert Screened at electronic music concert in Beirut Duration: 5 mins https://vimeo.com/58099602 Password: number9
A Scared Dance 05/2012
The Dancer 05/2012
As A President of the Republic 4/2011 Exhibited at Youth Saloon 2011 Exhibited at the mattress factory museum “USA� 2012 Duration: 2 mins Link for the work: https://vimeo.com/43126295
As a president of the republic is a blacked screen video, aims to make The viewer the main source of the image and projection; there is no fixed angle for everyone to see what is happening, the video he sees is just a reflection of his thoughts and experiences and how honest they were. it is a personal experience, but 2 persons or a group of people may share the same parts in a different order. This video is a summary for the first 18 days in the Egyptian revolution, when Mubarak was the hero of the happening events, where we have seen in all his speeches how insistent he was that he is the president of the country! And whenever people ask him to leave...he gave them solutions to change the government, or any thing else but him, he changes such things, and he is the president!!
The Swarm 2011 A video installation, collaborative art work with the American artist Wendy osher, the art work consisted of 2 parts, the installation and the interactive part where Wendy did them, and the video-audio part where Nouran did them, the Video was exhibited beside the installation on a TV screen Exhibited at the mattress factory museum “USA” 2012 Duration: 3 mins Link for the video: https://vimeo.com/43149649 Link for the Installation photo: http://www.mattress.org/index.cfm?event=ShowArtist&eid=101&id=528&c=past
swarm |swôrm| noun • a large number of honeybees that leave a hive en masse with a newly fertilized queen in order to establish a new colony. • ( a swarm/swarms of) a large number of people or things : a swarm of journalists. It's mainly about people and what happens when they gather regardless the reason of their gathering, they make a form by this assemble, their very loud voice and there shape make it very hard to differentiate who they are? What is their nationality? Where exactly is this happening? You can hardly differentiate by their shape also you can know most of these things by being there for a few seconds or minuets it is not always that hard, maybe it is all about the angle you are seeing from, may be a different angle will tell you what you need to know, other angle will tell you that they are just human beings.
25 minutes in the opera 2010 A Sound art work (Audio Walk), as a result of the “Media hacking workshop” at Ahmed shawky museum. Exhibited at the Final exhibition of the workshop. Duration: 25 mins Link: https://soundcloud.com/nouran-sherif/25-minutes-in-the-opera Project concept: The mean purpose was to give a way of hacking, hacking the law that annoys artists from photographing, videographing, or recording anything beside such an important place as the opera, The opera which is the place for art you can’t use it to make art, So the main idea was to record my voice describing everything outside and inside the opera in detail so as the audience at the end can see a good photo and video to the opera and can know the place even without entering it before.
Vanishing Point 2010 A video project, result of the firefly tunnels collaborative workshop between the united states and Egypt, collaborative work with the Artist Mostafa sleem, where the concept was common, Mostafa did the performance and Nouran did the videography. The sound track is original for the video, did by Waleed Mourice. Duration: 2 mins Link for the video: https://vimeo.com/54661545
assuming that one's life has 2 vanishing point, so this means that in a way our life is separated to 2 stages, the first is going up and the second is going down just with an imaginary perspective's point of view, and this video is all about the transitional phase in which the person start going in the other way so its all about this critical time which varies from one to another as it is a very personnel moment and has no specific time or age and you just have to pass through it alone and go out of it by yourself.
The Illusion of the reality 2010 A Sound Installation was a result of the Firefly tunnels workshop. Exhibited at Darb 1718 in saturated souls Exhibition. Sound Duration: 9 mins Link: https://soundcloud.com/nouran-sherif/the-illusion-of-the-reality
Project concept: The Illusion and the reality are two faces of coin, which means that neither the illusion nor the reality can be found alone, which makes the illusion itself a very important component of the components of the reality, which makes the illusion a part from the reality and leads us to the fact that we can’t separate them, this art work deals with the reality and the illusion as a homogenous components that work properly together and complete each other not two opposite components that can’t be found together.
Experimental Performance 08/2010
The Self-Portrait 05/2010
Computer graphic
Revolution simplification 2012 This project is a conceptual art work, contains a simple vision for the definition of the revolution elements, mainly the protesters and the security men (army and police men) and a comparison between both of them and their elements, tools and weapons. Every element in the design has a meaning, a function and a story, also the arrangement of the elements has a reason and a concept.
The first design “The revolutionists” is simplifying the protesters, their elements, things they used, their ways to spread news.
The second design “the regime protectors” is simplifying the security men (army and police men) their weapons, elements, things they used. By comparing the first and the second design, each column in the first has the complementary in the second design, for example the tear gas bombs has a complementary elements which is “coca-cola bottles and a mixture of yeast and water spray”, in front of the tank there is a motor bike as both are transportation
methods, in front of the weapons there are protesters and laptops, and this is applied for the rest of the columns each one has a response. ___________________________________________________________________________________
In this design the things we either saw or heard about during the revolution and got used to, although most of them would never be seen unless the country is in a war state. __________________________________________________________________________________
In this series I was trying to show the soldiers themselves, and their situation some of them were either manipulated or forced to do such a things, like a chess game their leaders played with them and sacrificed them to protect the King, so the soldieries was blamed for everything more than anyone else and at some point people dealt with them as only a marionette the man behind the curtains is moving it.
The last series is using the soldiers as a visual icon our eyes are used to it.
Painting, sketching, and overprint
Portraits (2010-2012)
Self Portrait, 35*50 Oil pastel on paper.
Self Portrait, 120*80, Oil on paper.
The young girl, 35*50, mixed media on wood.
Waiting, 35*50 acrylic on wood
Self Portrait, 30*40 Oil on canvas.
The young man, 110*70, mixed media on paper.
Separation, 120*80 acrylic on wood.
I’m Normal, 120*80 mixed media on paper.
Self Portrait, 25*30 Oil on canvas.
Self Portrait, 30*40 Oil on canvas.
A ‌. lady, 30*40 soft pastel on cardboard.
Painting in a book, water color and markers
Soldiers and protestors (Part of the graduation project 2012)
Soldier 1, 110*70 acrylic on wood.
Soldier 2, 120*80 acrylic and oil pastel on wood.
The regime protectors 1, mixed media over-print
The wild deer, mixed media over-print
The bloody regime protectors 2, mixed media over-print
The Wild deer 2, mixed media over-print
The regime protectors 3, mixed media over-print
Photography