In this film by Frieze, Elkalaawy reflects on the relationship between memory, family archives and the construction of images. Drawing from photographs, domestic objects and art historical references, her paintings bring together fragments of personal and collective histories, with partially obscured figures emerging from layered surfaces like ‘ghosts lurking in the background of an old photograph’.
The film follows Elkalaawy from her studio in Willesden to Kilburn High Road, where she speaks about growing up between Alexandria and London, the diasporic communities that shape her experience of the city, and the everyday objects and photographs that continue to inform her practice.
Elkalaawy’s work explores the space between what is seen and what is remembered, using processes of layering, accumulation and erasure to question how images shift between documentation, recollection and fiction.
Video courtesy of Frieze. © Frieze. All rights reserved.
