Jamal Bassiouni 

Mermaids, Vessels, and Vinyls marks Jamal Bassiouni's third and most ambitious solo exhibition at ArtTalks Gallery.

Jamal Bassiouni (1993) unveils an innovative and expansive artistic vision drawing on his attachment to Alexandria, his native city with its Mediterranean Sea and glorious ancient past. Bassiouni masterfully explores Alexandria's elemental connection to water and earth, blending ancient and modern into a powerful and liberating visual narrative.

For the first time, Bassiouni presents stunning hand-painted glazed pottery, striking iron boats, and recycled handpainted vinyl LPs, alongside his established oil painting practice, offering a thrilling fusion of mediums and a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.

After his first solo in 2022, Birds of Passage, and his second solo in 2023, Allegro, Mermaids, Vessels, and Vinyls celebrates Ancient Egyptian boats that sailed and connected our ancestors with the rest of the world and that continue to anchor on Alexandria's port.

Produced in various complex media like iron, Bassiouni's boats are complemented with a series of thirty fiber boats, each handpainted by ten young Egyptian artists, to create an immersive and collaborative experience.

Born in Alexandria in 1993, Jamal Bassiouni is a celebrated Egyptian multimedia artist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in his native city with the Highest Honors and holds a BFA (2016). His graduation project tackled color relations and their impact on modern art. Bassiouni also holds an MFA (2019) in oil painting from the same institution focusing on Ancient Egyptian beliefs in art. Four years ago, Bassiouni moved to Cairo, a bustling city with a high energy. The shift between the serenity of Alexandria and the dynamism of Cairo was a catalyst for his art exploration and broadening his scope of work and skills into sculptures and installations using materials like metal, fiberglass and clay.

Bassiouni has participated in numerous cultural events, including Egypt’s Youth and General Salons, and an international videography workshop at École Supérieure d'Art in Aix-en-Provence (France) in 2014. The following year in 2015, he exhibited at the Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée.

Solo Exhibitions:
World of Mirrors (2024), Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Allergo (2023), ArtTalks Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Birds of Passage (2022), ArtTalks Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
Deshret (2021), Tam Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.

Group Exhibitions:
Cairo International Art District (CIAD) (2023), Cairo, Egypt.
Espace Libre (2023), Institut Français, Alexandria, Egypt.
Artists of Tomorrow (2021), Tam Gallery, Cairo, Egypt.
All the Way from Ancient City (2021), Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi.
World Art Dubai (2020), Dubai, UAE.
Cairo Youth Salon (2019), Cairo, Egypt.
Cultural Cart Project (2018), Institut Français, Alexandria, Egypt.
Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs (2015), Toulon, France.


In Mermaids, Vessels, and Vinyls, Bassiouni collaborates with 10 young Egyptians artists to paint fiber-made Ancient Egyptian inspired boats, each with his / her unique style in three different sizes:

Ahmed Osman - Akram El Halwagy - Amir Abdel Ghani - Farida Sultan - Michael Wahid - Omar Senada - Pance Ahmed - Shady Hamed - Yehia Nour El Din - Ziad Fawi.