Wael Shawky's 'Dry Culture Wet Culture' at M Museum Explores Migration

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky, who spent much of his childhood in Saudi Arabia, presents 'Dry Culture Wet Culture' at M Museum in Leuven, running from March 11 to August 28, 2022. The exhibition centers on migration in its broadest sense—transition from one state to another—drawing on Shawky's observations of petrodollar-driven transformation of nomadic tribal society into high-tech urban society. Key works include 'Cabaret Crusades,' a trilogy of films using Arabic-speaking puppets to depict the Crusades from a non-European perspective, with glass puppets made by Murano glassworks for the third episode; 'The Cave,' a film series where Shawky recites the Koranic story of 'The Companions of the Cave' while walking through a supermarket; and 'The Gulf Project Camp,' inspired by Arab history since the 17th century. A new work, 'Asphalt City,' was created specifically for M. The title 'Dry Culture Wet Culture' refers to Shawky's concept of societies shifting from traditional nomadic existence (Dry Culture) to sedentary irrigation-based society (Wet Culture), a model for all major social changes. The exhibition includes wooden bas-reliefs with copies of European Crusade works, to which Shawky adds monsters and mythical creatures.