Reading Revolution on the Walls: Cairo Graffiti as an Emerging Public Sphere

Abstract

AbstractThe revolutionary and post-revolutionary period in Egypt created emerging and vivid public spheres that became communication milieus for various strata of society. Therein, new ideas and concepts were confronting old and established perceptions. Hereby, a genre of political in Cairo was formed, and within a comparatively short lapse of time it became an integral part of the revolution itself. Shortly started to be seen with glorified and romanticised connotations and artists were perceived as resistance fighters: primarily against the regime, thereafter against security forces and eventually against the Muslim Brotherhood. Their works were seen as tributes to revolution and its illustration.Although approaching as the dominated s resistance against the dominator indeed explains a wide realm of this societal conduct, it nevertheless regards only as a pro or counter statement. Therefore quite often, significant side-meanings and social perceptions on various issues are omitted.This paper explores Cairo not only as revolutionary narrative, but also as a prevailing public sphere where debate takes place. Analysing the side-messages that are drawn on the walls, helps to address social attitudes and public opinions on a variety of revolutionary and non-revolutionary issues. It employs various social sciences approaches and looks how the Cairo scene follows patterns of the notion defined as the 'public sphere'.IntroductionFor many in Egypt, the 18 days of the January 25 Revolution was something what Turner would call a liminal moment - when everything is possible, but nothing yet is replaced. Tahrir square became a symbol of hope, unity and power. And to a great extent that power, either real or implicit, was gained through people freeing their voices of expression. This freedom of expression per se and what it represented: self empowerment, pursuit of justice, expectancy of equality, etc. was one of the precious values and means of participation among revolutionaries. Speaking up and expressing one's mind became crucial, and different people found different ways to embody this objective.Thus, the revolution created many genres of participation: sit-in protests in Tahrir, marches and clashes with security forces, and tweeting or writing blogs and articles in various media outlets. The public sphere and vocal self-expression within it, became inbuilt elements of the revolution.Eventually Tahrir square and its surrounding streets became a symbol of revolution, both day and night being filled with people. In addition to their mere presence, people started using the walls and streets surrounding the square, as another means of expression. Hereby, a genre of political in Cairo was formed and over time lapse it became an integral part of the revolution itself. Although in Egypt was present before the revolution, it was still a rather rare phenomenon and was mostly used by football fans or for 'advertising' purposes, and thus the January 25 Revolution put on a completely different scale.In no time pieces mushroomed all over the city and became more and more sophisticated. Graffiti artists and drawings themselves were acknowledged by journalists, bloggers and activists and gained a widespread recognition as a different means of communication, whereby they exceeded their otherwise relatively short-lived existence on the streets. The political in Cairo created an entire market around itself: numerous catalogues compiling drawings were published1; articles and reports on the topic appeared and were given coverage by all kinds of media starting with local newspapers2 before spiralling upwards to the BBC3 and A1 Jazeera4; many bloggers and so-called graffiti hunters captured their favourite pieces and spread them through social media, trying to ensure that the messages were permanently etched in the public consciousness even after they were erased from the street walls. …

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