As the celebrated poet, author and one of Inji’s contemporaries and mentors, George Henein, poignantly described her empathetic disposition; Efflatoun was immersed within “her imaginary world around a bird of dreams and the heavy weight of the void.”
Opening exactly one century since the day of her birth, Safarkhan presents on Tuesday April 16 to Tuesday May 21, a specially-prepared commemorative centennial collection for Egypt’s foremost artist-activist, Inji Efflatoun (1924-1989). Inji, as she is now affectionately known to us all, left in her wake an enduring legacy that has inspired legions of art lovers, artists, activists, and revolutionaries decades after her passing. Subsequent recognition and admiration of her incomparable personal story has only gained more traction with each passing year, not least because of its undeniable salience to the tempestuous socio-political landscapes of our modern world. Inji’s message was simple yet as uplifting as it is everlasting, a woman of privilege who felt severed from her roots, she ceaselessly and compassionately devoted her life to her downtrodden compatriots, and by extension to all those like them elsewhere. Inji embodied within this noble act the other profound message of her existence which now lives on through her art – the quest of an individual seeking purpose in that which they are destined for, no matter how incongruous it may be with their upbringing, surroundings or the inevitable expectations of their loved ones. As the celebrated poet, author and one of Inji’s contemporaries and mentors, George Henein, poignantly described her empathetic disposition; Efflatoun was immersed within “her imaginary world around a bird of dreams and the heavy weight of the void.”
Safarkhan, as the proud exclusive purveyor of her remaining distinguished oeuvre, marks the 100th anniversary of Inji Efflatoun’s birth with a one-of-a-kind biographical exposition of the artist’s life and works. This distinctive multimedia exhibition is the very first of its kind at Safarkhan, and there is hardly an artistic personality more befitting of such an endeavor, given the gallery’s intimate personal relationship with Efflatoun during her storied career. Owing to the special nature of this exhibition, it draws upon various sources to establish a comprehensive exposé consisting of; the artist’s otherwise ordinary personal possessions, some of the curious artifacts she collected over the years, unseen photographic records from the heights of her artistic career in Egypt and abroad, videographical segments from a recent biopic on the artist for which gallery founder and esteemed patron of the arts Sherwet Shafei was interviewed, previously unexhibited seminal oil works from Safarkhan’s private collections for educational purposes, and lastly but not least, a curated assortment of some of the most impressive examples of her remaining portfolio spanning a variety of mediums and themes, many of which will be revealed to the public for the first time on this occasion. Furthermore, significant works from the key periods of her craft are highlighted through insightful commentary in the form of narrative captions, offering viewers a meticulous and informative walkthrough of pioneering artist-activist Inji Efflatoun’s moving story.
Ever since her passing, Safarkhan Art Gallery was bequeathed the entirety of Inji Efflatoun’s estate by her surviving cousin, Hassan Galal El Din, without which this would not have been possible. Subsequently, Safarkhan has held the proud role of being the exclusive custodian and one of the principle promoters and disseminators of her remaining body of work. Safarkhan has hosted six posthumous exhibitions for Inji Efflatoun, the most recent of which prior to the 100th anniversary ‘Remembering Inji: Centennial Collection’ was ‘Memoirs of Inji’ in 2019.
