In January 2011, during a time when discussions about police brutality were widespread on social media in Egypt, a wave of protests erupted against the Egyptian government. As a designer and artist, I felt a strong sense of duty to create an iconic representation of the youth revolution.
The 2Vth 'aka The Anonymous Pharaoh'
The Guy Fawkes mask holds so much power, its the perfect imagery for revolting. I chose to mash that with Tutankhamun because he was a young pharaoh who died at the age of 19, just like a lot of young Egyptian kids who sadly lost their lives too early in the events of the uprising in 2011. Later I decided to take off his crown as I wanted him to represent the people not the king. This started the cycle of mashing elements from different realms and cultures, which is definitely an important key to my design language.
Photographed by Tony Marsh
As the goverment were shutting down the internet and I felt that this design need to reach the protestors in the streets, I decided to cut stencils of the designs and to spray paint a mural of “Anonymous Pharaoh" right after the uprising in Egypt on this big grey wall by the Four Seasons in Alexandria, Egypt. Around mid- February just before the Mubarak regime was taken down, and when the mural went up both the Egyptian people and the critics really responded to it, it was really amazing to see how the people started wearing the Guy Fawkes mask during Egypt's protests post 25 January 2011.
Later The authors of the critically acclaimed book “Walls of Freedom” Basma Hamdy and Don Karl reached out to feature “Anonymous Pharaoh" on the cover of the book which documented all the street art and graffiti that flooded the streets of Egypt during the revolution. The book itself became a collector's item and was banned in Egypt and all the copies coming from Germany got confiscated by the customs, because they said that the book was "instigating revolt" as it contained imagery confronting the police and armed forces at that time.
www.WallsofFreedom.com
www.facebook.com/WallsOfFreedom
After the persistence in Tahrir Square and throughout Egypt, we successfully toppled the corrupt regime. "The 2Vth" became a cultural phenomenon, gaining global recognition and media coverage from The New York Times, CNN, and Al Jazeera. It has been exhibited in prestigious museums and design festivals worldwide, including The Design Museum in London, UK, and a life-size reproduction at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Germany, cementing its status as a significant political graphic design of the past decade.
"The cover showing the Guy Fawkes mask from the film V for Vendetta on a Mummy's head, is startling!" - The New York Times
"The Banksy of The Nile" -Indiegogo
"Pharaoh with a Vendetta? Come appreciate the dark humor and clean mystique of Marwan Shahin" -Alhoush House of Arab Art and Design
In 2018, the Anonymous Pharaoh was reborn in a new medium as a limited edition sculpture in collaboration with VTSS Toys. Working closely with the VTSS Toys team in Taiwan, we brought the original design to life in three-dimensional form. The sculpture was casted in hand painted polystone and accompanied by elaborate packaging inspired by Tutankhamun's Chest box, which contained original artwork documenting the story of the revolution on each side. Only 50 were made, Sold out.
The Anonymous Pharaoh Gold Edition - Released on NTWRK part of Ten Year Anniversary of the 2Vth.
The Anonymous Pharaoh: Ultimus Edition, Created with precious gems
in collaboration with Randall Byers.
When I moved my practice to Los Angeles CA, I've decided to recreate the Anonymous Pharaoh with 24k gold leaf in full glory, while the original mural in Alexandria, Egypt was rough and had its imperfections it captured the spirit of the revolution perfectly. This time I wanted to paint a perfect clean version identical to the graphic, with acrylics and 24k gold leaf it was realized as 3'x4' masterpiece in my Hollywood studio. which debuted at my solo show "Pyramid Schemess" in Los Angeles.
For the "Be with the Revolution" Exhibition at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MKG) in Hamburg, Germany. I've collaborated with German Street Artist TONA to reproduce a life-size reproduction of the now-destroyed mural accompanied with the
The "Africa Grafica" Exhibition, "The 2Vth" is the artwork in the top center underneath the Africa Grafica Sign
The 2Vth for Walls of Freedom T-Shirt By Marwan Shahin
