Interview with Wael Shawky

"I think it's nice to try to deal with history in an artistic form."

Speaker(s): Wael Shawky
Duration: 4 min
© Victor & Simon

In this interview, Wael Shawky reflects on his interest in history and the way he reinterprets it through art. The artist explores ancient narratives—mythological, religious, and historical—by combining various media, including film, music, drawing, sculpture, and performance.

The exhibition, conceived as a fully immersive experience, takes the city of Pompeii as its starting point. Through the figure of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth, Shawky brings to life a world inhabited by mythological characters and ritual practices.

The works on view highlight the connections between Greek, Roman, and Egyptian cultures, and show how myths circulate, transform, and create a universal language that links civilizations.