A project by Dina Danish & Jean-Baptiste Maitre, exploring the lost recipe of Egyptian blue and its connection to the evil eye
This blog documents our experiments in Egypt with glassblowers, craftsmen, and archaeological draughtsmen. The project will result in a written study and a video, transferred to analog 16mm film soaked in blue infrared pigment. The insights and discoveries shared here will contribute to our upcoming book, ensuring our research and creative process are preserved and protected.
Dina Danish is a French/ Egyptian artist and educator living and working in Amsterdam.
In her multi-media work, Danish focuses on language and structure, incorporating humour and misunderstanding.
Awarded illy Present Future Prize and Barclay Simpson Award, Danish work was also shortlisted for Prix de Rome, Volkskrant Award and Abraaj Art Prize.
Exhibitions include Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, De Appel Art Centre in Amsterdam, South London Gallery, Beirut in Cairo, MAMbo Bologna, and Kunsthall Oslo.
Her work is held in several collections including De Nederlandsche Bank, Nomas Foundation, ABN Amro Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and MoMA.
Danish studied at the American University in Cairo and California College of the Arts. She was artist-in-residence at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, PiST in Istanbul, The American Academy in Rome, Rose Residency Programme MAMbo in Bologna, A.I.R. Dubai, by Delfina Foundation and ResO Fondazione Spinola Banna per l’Arte in Poirino.
Danish teaches at Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.
Galleries representing Danish are Stigter van Doesburg, Amsterdam, Gypsum, Cairo and Rita Urso, Milan.
Jean-Baptiste Maitre is an artist. He received his degrees in Art History (Paris-Sorbonne University) and Fine Arts (Ecole des Beaux-Arts Paris) as well as in Studio Photography (Gobelins Ecole de l’Image, Paris). He was a researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht and at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. Maitre was an artist in residence at PiST Istanbul, The American Academy in Rome, Rose Residency Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, Via Farini in Milan, Lo Schermo dell Arte Visio program in Florence.
Maitre has exhibited at P//////AKT platform for contemporary art (Amsterdam); Galerie 1M3 (Lausanne); Centre d’Art La Salle de Bains (Lyon); Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (San Francisco); Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht); Centre Pompidou (Paris); Eye Film Museum (Amsterdam); Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (IT); De Nederlandsche Bank (NL); Live in Your HEAD (Geneve).
His works is part of the collections of the Stedelijk museum Amsterdam, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Museo d’Arte Moderna in Bologna, Sammlung Philara in Düsseldorf, as well as the Dutch Central Bank and ABN AMRO Bank collections.
Maitre is represented by Martin van Zomeren in Amsterdam and Rita Urso in Milan.
This project is made possible with help of the Mondrian Fund
