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We may think of Egypt as the land of pyramids and palm trees, but Egyptians have their own ideas of what an exotic landscape looks like, adorning their homes and businesses with colourful posters that depict a mash-up of English gardens dotted with Swiss chalets, or Chinese pagodas accented by tropical waterfalls and sculptural fountains.
Vincent Battesti explains how this pastiche wall art is not just kitsch – it represents idealised nature, exoticism and Egyptian’s embrace of a globalised world.
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Not what most Egyptians see when they look out their windows.
Vincent Battesti
Vincent Battesti, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN) – Sorbonne Universités
The pastiche-style poster art ubiquitous in Egyptian houses and businesses reveals how locals imagine far-off landscapes, idealise nature and define beauty.
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Business + Economy
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Gabriele Suder, University of Melbourne
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Charlotte Cross, The Open University
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