Karim El Hayawan to Exhibit at Photo London’s ‘Positions’ Show

This May, Photo London introduces a new section of its renowned photography fair titled ‘Positions’, aimed at giving unrepresented artists a platform on the international stage. Among the selected artists is Cairo-based visual artist and interior architect Karim El Hayawan, whose practice bridges photography and design.

Collecting Stars - Sabah

After founding Design Point Studio in 2002, El Hayawan pursued visual storytelling under the mentorship of Reuters photojournalist Alaa Abdel Naby. His work, often exploring the shared elements of human experience, draws on the idea of universal metaphors to connect audiences across cultural lines.

Between Here & Elsewhere

El Hayawan’s inclusion in ‘Positions’ came about through a connection with arts patron Nora Al Kholi, and a curatorial collaboration with Maria Sukkar. They worked closely together to select works from two of El Hayawan’s photo series: ‘Collecting Stars’ and ‘Between Here & Elsewhere’.

In ‘Collecting Stars’, El Hayawan captures the complex presence of iconic film figures in everyday life, as seen through his lens during a two-hour walk through Cairo’s bustling Saturday market. The series meditates on the allure and ubiquity of movie stars. “There’s a tension in how these stars become objectified,” El Hayawan shares. “Yet we still feel connected to them, still appreciate them. They’re a part of what we love and who we are.”

Collecting Stars - Hend Rostom

El Hayawan’s second series, ‘Between Here & Elsewhere’, is the result of a solo exhibition in collaboration with Art 74. It takes a documentary-poetic approach to a curious phenomenon: the presence of donated domestic rugs, casually laid across the interiors of Cairo’s most iconic mosques. By recontextualising these rugs as visual subjects, El Hayawan constructs “a triangular exchange between the artist, the anonymous rug-owner, and the viewer.” Through this layered dialogue, the rugs transcend their position as functional objects to become fragments of lived memory, aesthetic storytelling, and urban history.

Between Here & Elsewhere

“This collection is an organic, continuous collage,” Al Hayawan notes. “It carries a lot of energy. It’s a reflection of how we live and create.”

Through ‘Positions’, El Hayawan’s work gains a new international platform, one that aligns with Photo London’s mission to reimagine the boundaries of contemporary photography.