In 2018 I spent five months in Egypt doing research, during which I made a series of artworks.

The experience was a hard one. There were many challenges that pushed me to my limits.

I rented a small apartment in the capital city of Cairo where, in total isolation, I feverishly made drawings and conceived of new patterns and motifs.

My research centered around ancient Egyptian symbolism. I visited museums and archeological sites many times during the course of my stay, where I sourced images of mummies and skeletons to inform my enduring themes of tradition, disillusionment and concealment. I also looked into recent local history and found myself interested in the nationalism and propaganda that have come to define the country, and which have made lasting impressions on my work.

It was a surreal time of mental and physical strain — as a foreigner I was surveilled and forced into many adventures, some of them not very pleasant. The isolation and strangeness of the experience took a toll on my subconscious, almost to the point of insanity. A story, perhaps, for another time.