Subscribe to our newsletter for our must-see exhibitions, artists, events and more here
Shop William Kentridge Prints here

What about El Max?: These houses are a part of us II

Sue Williamson
What about El Max?: These houses are a part of us II, 2002-2003
Pigment inks on Hahnemühle paper
Work: 47.5 x 59 cm

In 2003 Sue Williamson decides to take up again the idea of walls as support for personal testimonies. This time it was in Alexandria , Egypt , in a small fisher community named El Max that suffers the constant threat of military stationed near the zone in addition to the effects of contamination produced by a petrochemical company that prefers to move its inhabitants. What about El Max? was the title chosen by the artist for this photographic documentation created after a carefree exchange with the inhabitants in which they expressed their joy in living there. The artist then suggested them to show the world their love for El Max, and thus phrases like “Tell your people this place is perfect” and “We are like fish, we cannot live away from the sea” were written on the walls of their homes.