Youssef Nabil's Hand-Colored Egypt at Palazzo Grassi, Venice

Youssef Nabil (born Cairo, 1972) presents a solo exhibition at Palazzo Grassi in Venice, running concurrently with a Henri Cartier-Bresson show. Forced to leave Egypt in 2003 to pursue his artistic vision, Nabil creates hand-colored gelatin silver prints that evoke a dreamlike, alternative Egypt. His works feature vibrant, hand-painted colors on black-and-white photographs, blending cinema, painting, and photography. Key images include 'Natacha fume le Narguilé, Cairo 2000' showing singer Natacha Atlas provocatively smoking hashish, and 'Deux Djellabas' (2007) depicting intertwined male legs. The exhibition culminates with the 2008 series 'I Will Go to Paradise,' where Nabil, dressed in traditional attire, walks into the sea at sunset. In a catalog conversation with André Aciman, Nabil describes cinema as an escape from reality. The show is organized by the Pinault Collection.