Ganzeer is an artist, designer and writer. His beginnings were actually in commercial design, but over time he began to drift toward “fine art” and activism, and in more recent years fiction writing, creating what he has coined Concept Pop. His media are stencils, murals, paintings, pamphlets, comics, installations and graphic design. With over 40 exhibitions worldwide, Ganzeer has been viewed in art galleries, impromptu spaces, alleyways and major institutions such as The Brooklyn Museum, The Palace of the Arts in Cairo, Greek State Museum in Thessaloniki, and the V&A in London. He is always looking for ways to merge all of these modes of expression together—and below he shows and tells a bit about some recent projects and how he achieves his art.
Would you call yourself an artist who designs?
I certainly started out as a designer who makes art, but as I’ve moved between mediums over the years, it really has all coalesced for me and become one big playground where such strict categorizations no longer apply. I would even argue that this applies to writing as well, where perhaps at the onset one may apply the kind of design thinking that being a designer tends to train you for, but then once you’re deep in the writing, it’s quite common to enter a kind of lucid flow state often associated with art-making. Ultimately, my favorite works are the ones that encourage one to utilize their design mind as well as enter that elusive flow state.
What are the primary themes of your work?
Challenging established norms, highlighting injustice and speaking truth to power if I can manage it.
Tell me about the plot of The Solar Grid.
Several centuries after a great flood has subsumed much of the Earth and prompted some of the population to migrate to Mars, much of the Earth is now a dry and desolate landfill thanks to The Solar Grid, a network of satellites that orbits the planet and keep it based in eternal daylight, consigning night to legend. The satellites help power solar factories on Earth that operate ceaselessly to manufacture goods exported to Mars, whereby Mars sends the waste of their consumption back to Earth. Two orphans on Earth, Mehret and Kameen, who rummage through the landfills in search of valuable items they can live off, come upon an artifact that will completely disrupt life as they know it.
Fiction or nonfiction—do you have a preference?
Fiction.
What are your plans for other displays of your art?
Nothing on the horizon right now, but as soon as The Solar Grid is complete, I’d love to organize a touring exhibition with all the original art pages along with some contemporary art pieces inspired by the world of The Solar Grid.
