Gamal Fahmy Resists Pandemic Gloominess With Vibrant Colors

Gamal Fahmy Resists Pandemic Gloominess With Vibrant Colors
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Gamal Fahmy Resists Pandemic Gloominess With Vibrant Colors

Gamal Fahmy Resists Pandemic Gloominess With Vibrant Colors

Gamal Fahmy spent the entire period defined by the coronavirus pandemic contemplating its psychological impact on the world.

This contemplation was manifested in colorful abstract splashes of emotion on canvases, which are now on display at the White Frame Exhibition in Cairo’s Picasso Gallery.

The plethora of emotions brought about by the pandemic can be seen in the hundreds of details that make up Fahmy’s paintings.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat about his work and whether it was affected by the virus, Fahmy says: “I wasn't influenced by the pandemic, but rather, I painted with a desire to overcome its circumstances."

He noted that he chose white frames as a common base for his various paintings that held vibrant and bold colors that reflect a sense of resistance to the depression imposed on humanity by the pandemic.

Fahmy explains that life is full of hardship and disasters, but "we could live through them and experience the contradiction between beauty and ugliness, tyranny and justice, forced on us".

His works feature a number of contradictions in life, such as good and evil, ugliness and beauty, joy and sadness, and hope and despair.

Forty-three paintings are on display at Gamal Fahmy’s new exhibition, which runs until January 16.

Visitors will find that his work captures the significance and meaning of his discussion about the power of life’s contradictions while also giving it an optimistic edge with its interplay between colors.



Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert

A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
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Forest Fire Near Athens Under Control, But Area on High Alert

A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A firefighting airplane sprays water on a hill in Thymari, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (104 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greek firefighters said Friday that a forest blaze that had forced evacuations around Athens was under control, but warned that scorching temperatures were keeping fire risk at a highly elevated level around the capital and on northern Aegean islands.

Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in the summer fueled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

The fire around Athens broke on Thursday afternoon near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages popular with local and foreign tourists, AFP reported.

Though it was under control on Friday, a volatile combination of high temperatures and strong winds meant that a high risk of other fires breaking out remained, especially in the Attica region around the Greek capital and some islands in the north Aegean Sea, authorities said.

A spokesman for the fire service told AFP that over 100 firefighters with 37 vehicles and a helicopter were on standby near Palaia Fokaia and Thymari.

Fields, olive groves and some houses were ravaged by the blaze.

The blaze came on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios -- Greece's fifth-largest island -- which had destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land in four days.

Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.