Fayoum portrait no. 26 Drawing

Shenouda Esmat is a visual artist working with many different mediums including painting, photography, graphic design, mixed media and animation. In all the different mediums that he uses he looks for a way to rejuvenate heritage and mythology in a contemporary language. Shenouda is deeply influenced by Egyptian heritage and historic art, particularly Ancient Egyptian and Coptic art. Some of his common subjects that he revisits are Holy figures, gods of ancient Egypt, and sacred animals that were glorified in the past. In his artwork he mixes visual elements and iconography from Egyptian heritage with modern figures and portraits, and everyday objects. It’s a practice of simultaneously reviving the old while celebrating the contemporary, and highlighting the links that bridge them across time. Since graduating from El-Minya Faculty of Fine Arts in 2000, Shenouda Esmat has participated in many group exhibitions across different mediums. He also designed many graphic designs for Egyptian ministry of tourism . His photographs have won several heritage competitions. Part of his previous experiences include painting frescoes in Egypt’s churches, and participating in a workshop to design artisanal souvenirs for the Egyptian Museum. In addition, Shenouda concerns to explore new technical horizons in the direction of sustainable development through the use of natural materials and the recycling of local materials , as well as emphasizing the encouragement and use of local heritage industries of materials such as papyrus.