Visual Cultures of the Aswan Dam

This project will explore visual cultures of the High Dam in Aswan, Egypt, a project at the intersection of multiple technological and political transformations in the Middle East during the Cold War. The new military regime in Egypt sought to construct a new postcolonial economy and civic identity in the 1950s and 1960s. New politics required a new visual language, to which artists, photographers, and filmmakers contributed by designing flags, coins, stamps, institutional logos, and producing photographs, paintings, and films. The Aswan Dam became an important focal point of these efforts as artists and filmmakers were mobilized to reflect on its value as an affirmation of mankind’s sovereignty over nature, a living symbol of the Egyptian people’s will, and a reminder of their heroic triumph over the forces of imperialism. Their ambivalences about hazardous work conditions on the site, the fate of displaced Nubians, and the destruction of Egypt’s historical heritage posed challenges for censors. It also fueled forms of creative resistance against state narratives of progress.

Project Researchers