Revealing Farouk Ibrahim’s Legacy: The Legend’s Light Box Shines in Alexandria

With the support of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo at Alexandria Photo Week, A New Adventure for Legend Farouk Ibrahim in Alexandria With Ninety Pictures.

The first exhibition of the late photographer Farouk Ibrahim, entitled “The Legend”, achieved huge success. Over several months, it was held in Cairo, where the number of visitors reached over thirty thousand. A new adventure awaits to disclose the hidden details of millions of pictures in the archive of this iconic figure, whom we call the mental picture engineer. This time, his son, photographer Karim Farouk Ibrahim, is to highlight the diversity in the archive of that legend, in collaboration with interior designer and exhibition coordinator, Ramzi Markam Ebeid. With the support of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, this exhibition will be held in Alexandria; one of the governorates that the late photographer loved, under the title “The Legend’s Light Box”. Additionally, it will be held as part of Alexandria Photo Week from February 1 to 10 at Amideast.

Concerning the preparation phase for the upcoming exhibition, which will be totally different from the one held in Cairo, Karim stated: “Following the success of the first exhibition, there were discussions about holding the Legend exhibition in Alexandria as soon as possible. However, I didn’t like this idea, for I wanted to present Farouk Ibrahim’s archive in a different way to the people of Alexandria. Indeed, this was agreed upon. I made a deal with Ramzi Makram Ebeid to be the general coordinator of the second exhibition, in order to highlight how Farouk Ibrahim used to view pictures in the past to come up with the best ones. Hence, the audiences would interact with that period”.

Karim announced the beginning of the preparation phase, saying: “Over three months, I’ve set a schedule with Ramzi to work on a daily and continuous basis to prepare for the exhibition and choose special photos for the Alexandria exhibition from the unlimited number of archive photos, especially since we’re following certain criteria to shed light on the brilliance of the late photographer and selecting the photos that best show his unique capabilities. As for the first exhibition, the selection of photos was based on Farouk Ibrahim’s love for photos with stories and meanings. Back then, we presented over two hundred photos. For me, this is the unboxing stage or opening up the archive. We’re currently in the second stage; we’re keen on classifying and dividing the exhibition into large sections, including politics, arts, travel, and others. There are almost fifteen classifications we’re trying to present. Farouk Ibrahim’s archive is diverse and includes various fields. Typically, fourteen photographers are responsible for the classification mission. My dad had special capabilities that made him present diversified photography fields”.

Ramzi Makram Ebeid pointed out that he became the coordinator of Farouk Ibrahim’s second exhibition by chance. He stated: “I knew little about this man. I asked his son many questions to get to know him better, especially after I attended “the Legend” exhibition that was held last year at Cairo Photo Week. I did not know that I would be the coordinator of the upcoming exhibition. Basically, I was stunned by the photos and was very impressed with them. He succeeded in highlighting a different aspect that we haven’t seen before in the character of Egyptians, as well as foreign stars and public figures. After viewing the photos, I realized that he was not just a regular photographer who only captured photos, but his personality traits made people love dealing with him. Hence, the special sides and aspects become vivid in the photos. The iconic celebrity photographer, Farouk Ibrahim, was the only one who could capture such photos”.

Ramzi added: “When we started working, I was keen on getting to know this man better. I held numerous working sessions with his son, Karim, in several places, including his office at Al-Akhbar. Over the course of three months, I’ve been selecting photos. Eventually, we chose ninety photos from an infinite number of photos, especially after we checked the place where the exhibition will be held; Amideast. Since I’m an interior designer, I came up with a different design for the hall to suit the exhibition’s theme; “Light Box”, so that audiences can view photos just like Farouk Ibrahim. Each visitor will find what he’s looking for; a rare photo of a celebrity, place, or even for himself by chance, in a new and unique design”.
Ebeid said: “Farouk Ibrahim’s joyful spirit was apparent in each photo he captured. He succeeded in highlighting the humanitarian side of each character and documenting a snapshot that no one had seen before of this person – in case he was a celebrity. Indeed, it made me so glad. A special section about Alexandria -through the eyes of Farouk Ibrahim- will be held, along with the selected photos”.

Photopia’s founder and managing director, Marwa Abou Leila, stated: “We’re proud to be the first to hold a successful exhibition in Cairo, reaching about thirty-five thousand visitors at the 2023 Cairo Photo Week, with the support of the U.S. Embassy. It is one of the most visited photography exhibitions; many specialists in the history of Egypt visited it. Thus, we’re pleased to present a new edition of the exhibition in Alexandria, in accordance with the nature of Alexandria”.