Mia Gröndahl Knihy

The egyptian revolution that began on 25 january 2011 immediately gave rise to a wave of popular political and social expression in the form of graffiti and street art, phenomena that were almost unknown in the country under the old regime mia grondahl, a noted photographer, has followed and documented the constantly and rapidly changing graffiti art of the new egypt from its beginnings, and here in more than 430 full-colour images celebrates the imagination, the skill, the humour and the political will of the young artists and activists who have claimed the walls of cairo and other egyptian cities as their canvas punctuated by interviews with some of the individual artists whose work has broken fresh ground

Graffiti began in Gaza in 1987, during the first Intifada, when there was no Palestinian television or radio in the Gaza Strip, and no the messages that spread along the walls became an important means of communication. Over the years, all political groups have had their own graffiti artists. Scrawl is not tolerated―it has to look good. Hamas even offers evening classes in graffiti. Documenting the writings on the walls of Gaza over a period of seven years, celebrated Swedish photojournalist Mia Gröndahl lays before us the many roles that they perform, the colorful and surprising range of their artistic expression, and their reflection of the changing political situation. And apart from political slogans, the walls bear witness too to joy and the wedding celebrations, the many victims of the conflict, and the ever present hope of peace and freedom. For us on the outside, Mia Gröndahl’s photographs offer an exciting and unexpected view of life in Gaza.