This is an Art Fund initiative for the British Museum and V&A to acquire a collection of 20th century and contemporary photography and digital images by artists from the Middle East (whether living in their countries of origin or outside). The Art Fund has given the two museums grants over £150,000 for the collection and additional support for the tour of the collection. These 3 works are influenced by Nubia's strong oral culture. Fathi uses Arabic as a medium to express this Nubian speech, blending words from both languages. Many of his works have no spaces at all between the words and letters because he wants them to stay 'in company' with one another.

Provenance

1) Al-Riwaq Gallery, Bahrain; 2) Casa Del Arte, Istanbul; 3-5) Rose Issa Projects, London; 6) Magnum Photos.