Exhibition
For Two Weeks Only
23 July – 7 August 2013
From the Series: Genetically Modified Spring
A Mural Painting by
Mona El Bayoumi
protecting the dead when they enter the after life. According to the
Egyptians, during the day, the heavenly bodies—such as the sun and
moon—would make their way across her body. Then, at dusk, they would be
swallowed, pass through her belly during the night, and be reborn at
dawn.
Nut is also the barrier separating the forces of chaos
on her toes and fingertips over the earth; her body portrayed as a
star-filled sky. Nut’s fingers and toes were believed to touch the four
cardinal points or directions of north, south, east, and west.
Because of her role in saving Osiris, Nut was seen as a friend and protector of
the dead, who appealed to her as a child appeals to its mother: “O my
Mother Nut, stretch Yourself over me, that I may be placed among the
imperishable stars which are in You, and that I may not die.” Nut was
thought to draw the dead into her star-filled sky, and refresh them with
food and wine: “I am Nut, and I have come so that I may enfold and
protect you from all things evil.”
Meet the Artist
Mona El-Bayoumi is an Egyptian-American artist residing in Washington D.C. She was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1962 and moved to the United States as a young child. Growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, in the 1970’s, El-Bayoumi was exposed to many human rights struggles around the world. This exposure to issues of human rights and travel to different countries had a great impact on her and her work and is reflected in her work till now. Egypt, Palestine Iraq, the United States, and South Africa, as well as love and determination are reoccurring themes in her work.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Michigan State University. Mona has exhibited her work in Washington D.C., other parts of the United States, Egypt, Paris and South Africa. Her work is included in private collections around the world.
For more information about the artist, please visit www.monaart.com.
