At Egyptian cafe, customers get their coffee with a dash of art

Record ID: 1436650

  • Title: At Egyptian cafe, customers get their coffee with a dash of art
  • Date: 15th October 2019
  • Summary: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (OCTOBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) 'TAMR HENNA' CAFE BARISTA MAKING DRINKS AT BAR VARIOUS OF HORROR STATUE AT CAFE STATUE NAMED 'ADEL THE TERRORIST' / BLOODIED HEAD / SIGN READING (Arabic): "Terrorism has no religion" VARIOUS OF OWNER OF 'TAMR HENNA' MUSEUM AND CAFE, NASSER AL-SHERBINI, WORKING ON FACIAL DETAILS OF STATUE SHERBINI WORKING VARIOUS OF STATUES IN CAFE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF 'TAMR HENNA' MUSEUM AND CAFE, NASSER AL-SHERBINI, SAYING: "My goal from establishing the café and museum of 'Tamr Henna' was to spread cultural awareness, visual taste, principle and empathy toward the other, through the museum." VARIOUS OF SCULPTURE OF 'ADEL THE TERRORIST' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF 'TAMR HENNA' CAFE, NASSER AL-SHERBINI, SAYING: "I decided to embody the reality that we live in, including the diverse and abnormal characters, who live among us. Amongst the people that I made was the terrorist. This terrorist is called Adel (Arabic for justice), which the opposite of his character. He imprisoned himself in racism and he hates Christians, he hates Shi'ite Muslims." STATUE OF BIRD VARIOUS OF STATUES AT CAFE SIGN READING (Arabic): "I roam the world for evil, for I am evil like all of you… the evil witch" STATUE OF LION WITH OPEN MOUTH / PHOTO OF SHERBINI SKULL PEOPLE SITTING AT CAFE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF 'TAMR HENNA' MUSEUM AND CAFE, NASSER AL-SHERBINI, SAYING: "I also represented terrorism through artwork, from a different point of view. I created the statue of the evil witch. The evil witch statue is four metres long. It weighs approximately 400 kilograms. This statue took around six months of work. I represented terrorism through the evil witch. The evil witch is flying on a broom. I wrote on the broom, 'I roam the world for evil, for I am evil like all of you'." SHERBINI EXPLAINING WORK TO CUSTOMERS CUSTOMER LOOKING AROUND CUSTOMERS SITTING SURROUNDED BY DECORATION AND WORK CUSTOMER LOOKING AROUND CUSTOMERS SEEN THROUGH ARTWORK SITTING AT CAFE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CUSTOMER AT 'TAMR HENNA' MUSEUM AND CAFÉ, SAMAR, SAYING: "You feel as though you are going into a field of thoughts, a garden of thoughts. Today, you can sit in a corner that represents something specific. For example, the one we are sitting in is the corner of the great, such as Guevara and Angelina Jolie. Another corner can be about crocodiles. You can sit with live crocodiles underneath you. It is the first time that I see a place with live animals and taxidermied animals, and sculptures. It also has sculpting workshops and drawing workshops. I see people coming in here to work. It is honestly a terrific place." STATUES AND DRINKS AT BAR IN CAFE SIGN READING (Arabic): "Tamr Henna Museum" EXTERIOR OF 'TAMR HENNA' CAFE
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2019 09:16
  • Keywords: cafe art cafe art in Egypt Egyptian artist Egyptian sculptor artwork in Egypt
  • Location: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
  • City: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B17JQL5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: After finding a creative outlet in art, an Egyptian sculptor and business owner opened a cafe that also serves as a home to his art, offering customers a cultural experience along with their beverages.
    The sign outside the cafe reads the "Tamr Henna Museum" and inside the coffee house is riddled with statues and figures for visitors to explore.
    The main goal was to use the cafe to spread "cultural awareness… and empathy toward others", said owner Nasser al-Sherbini.
    The sculptures bear subtle political messages and philosophical meanings which Sherbini often discusses with customers.
    A recurring theme in his work is terrorism and Sherbini has embodied it through a character ironically named Adel, the Arabic word for justice.
    The statue of Adel shows him imprisoned by his own thoughts and hatred towards people who are different, the sculptor said.
    The statue's hands are covered with the blood of innocent people, Sherbini added.
    The installation is completed with a bloodied head meant to represent Adel's victims and a message that reads "terrorism has no religion."
    While some of the work on display may not be for the faint-hearted, visitor, Samar said she was impressed by the cafe.
    In particular, she admired the diversity of the items on display, which range from tributes to famous people and cultural symbols to live animals.
    The cafe which opened in 2017 features 70 statues and 90 taxidermied animals.
    (Production: Mohamed Zaki, Sherif Fahmy, Nadeen Ebrahim)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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